Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number of Israeli hostages taken on 7 October 2023; and how many and what proportion (a) have died, (b) have been released and (c) remain in captivity.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO holds information on the hostages being held in Gaza, which is taken and updated regularly from official Israeli government sources. As of 10 April 2024;
• On 7 October, 253 hostages were kidnapped and taken into Gaza.
• 124 hostages have been returned to Israel (112 alive and 12 deceased). 129 hostages remain in Gaza. Of these 129 hostages, the Israeli government has stated that it has evidence that 34 are deceased. The remaining 95 hostages are either presumed alive or their status is unknown.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the number of (a) civilians, (b) women and (c) children (i) killed and (ii) injured in Gaza using UK-made (A) arms and (B) technologies since October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We keep all export licences under careful review.
The Foreign Secretary has underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and we want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on tackling sexual violence in conflict; and if he will make it his policy to call for incidents of sexual violence by (a) Hamas and (b) the Israel Defense Forces to be independently investigated.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK condemns sexual violence unequivocally and without exception. Reports of sexual violence on and since 7th October are deeply disturbing. The UK has consistently called for these reports to be fully investigated to ensure justice for survivors and victims.
Through our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict programmes and dedicated funding totalling £60 million, we are leading work internationally to prevent conflict-related sexual violence and strengthen justice and support for all survivors.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the number of people who have been displaced in Gaza since 8 October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.
According to a UN estimate, as of 1 April, up to 1.7 million people (over 75% of the population) had been displaced across the Gaza Strip.
As the Prime Minister has told Prime Minister Netanyahu and regional leaders, we are deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah. Over half of Gaza's population are sheltering in the area, and the Rafah crossing is vital to ensure aid can reach the people who so desperately need it.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the speech by the President of Argentina of 2 April 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to upholding the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination. As the Foreign Secretary made clear on his recent visit to the Falkland Islands, as long as the Islanders want to remain part of the UK family, there can be no discussions on sovereignty. The UK looks forward to developing a constructive relationship with Argentina where we can agree to disagree politely on the issue of the Falkland Islands, whilst restarting mutually beneficial co-operation on areas of shared interest.
Asked by: Nicola Richards (Conservative - West Bromwich East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with the Director of Operations at UNRWA on (a) the precision of air strikes in Gaza and (b) whether Hamas tunnels ran near or under UNRWA schools.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK takes allegations of neutrality violations extremely seriously, including in relation to UN installations such as schools. The FCDO also monitors this closely through our annual assessment of UNRWA. When violations have been identified, UNRWA has taken action, including raising the issue with relevant parties.
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General. Their independent investigations include assessment of the policies and systems UNRWA has in place to ensure neutrality.
Asked by: Michael Ellis (Conservative - Northampton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the use of UNRWA push-to-talk networks by Hamas.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK takes allegations of neutrality violations extremely seriously, including any incidents related to UN installations. The FCDO also monitors this closely through our annual assessment of UNRWA. When violations have been identified, UNRWA has taken action, including raising the issue with relevant parties.
We are aware that Catherine Colonna has now provided her interim report on UNRWA neutrality to the UN Secretary-General. This independent investigation includes an assessment of the policies and systems UNRWA has in place to ensure neutrality.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to withdraw funding from UNWRA on the (a) provision and (b) distribution of aid in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK provided £35 million to UNRWA in the financial year 2023/24, including an uplift of £16 million for the Gaza humanitarian response, all of which was disbursed before the recent allegations came to light.
Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response.
We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies and British charities.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an estimate of the amount of aid that will enter Gaza before the end of Ramadan, in the context of UN Security Council resolution 2728.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
On 5th April Israel committed to significant steps to increase the amount of aid getting to Gaza, including allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Port of Ashdod and the Erez checkpoint.
The UK has urged Israel to take these steps for a long time and they are welcome. We are resolved that the international community will work with Israel to see these vital changes fully implemented.
We are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make it his policy to establish an independent review to guarantee that UK arms export policy does not breach obligations under international law.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
All export licence applications are already assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.