Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “couldn’t have done things worse” in the conflict with Hamas, according to a former speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Speaking on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Nancy Pelosi said she is “not a big fan” of Mr Netanyahu and that he “has never been an agent for peace”.

In the interview, the former speaker said the war is challenging “the conscience of the world”, that the impact of famine on children in Gaza is “almost unforgivable” and criticised the death toll.

Ms Pelosi told the BBC that the actions of Hamas on October 7 were “barbaric”.

She continued: “Israel has the right to defend itself – the manner in which they are doing it is really challenging because Netanyahu has never been an agent for peace.

“I’m not a big fan of his, but he couldn’t have done things worse than tens of thousands, whatever the figure may be of people dying, children malnourished, and the uncertainty that is there, and that’s what people are speaking out about.”

On the student protests against the Israel-Hamas war happening at universities across the US, Ms Pelosi said: “What’s happening in Gaza challenges the conscience of the world – the starvation, the dehydration and malnutrition rising in some parts of Gaza.

“Famine that almost is unforgivable in terms of the toll it takes on children.”

When asked whether she understood why young people were protesting the conflict and about the tactics used in demonstrations, Ms Pelosi said: “When they go beyond campuses and block the Golden Gate Bridge or something for a long period of time and people can’t go to the doctor or the hospital or to whatever is urgent in their lives, it doesn’t win favour.

“It may attract press but it does not attract favour.

“How can you ever criticise demonstrations on campuses? That’s a way of life for us in America.”