Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Apsana Begum Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

On the Israeli elections, obviously the formation of any future Government is a matter for the parties and people in Israel and for their system of government. We will of course work and engage with any Government formed, and our asks of that Government and demands in relation to the situation will be same: get the aid in; support the two-state solution; stop the illegal settlement expansion; and stop the violence and settler terrorism that we have seen. Our message will be very clear whoever is in power and we will engage accordingly.

The hon. Lady talked about the board of peace, which does important work. We are not a member of the board of peace, but when I was in Egypt a few weeks ago, I met with the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which is the body that has been set up to look at the administration of Gaza going forward. The House will note the comments of the board of peace in relation to the current situation in Gaza, and the condemnation and criticism that has come from all parts. That shows the scale of the challenge, and that the Israeli Government need to respond.

[Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

Last night, six Palestinians including a surgeon, Dr Rizk Abu Shaira, were slaughtered in an airstrike on Gaza’s Nasser medical complex. It is the sixth attack on the hospital in just three years, and part of the systemic healthcare destruction in Gaza that UN experts have called a “medicide”. Can the Minister confirm whether this Government are tracking Israel’s use of the F-35 parts that are still shamefully being exported to Israel from the UK, and whether they are being used to deliberately target Gaza’s last remaining hospitals?

[Stephen Doughty]

I share my hon. Friend’s horror at the reports coming in overnight, and we have been attempting to get clarity on the situation there. A hit on a medical facility, after so many doctors, humanitarian workers and others have lost their lives, been injured and been put at risk by the actions in Gaza, is absolutely appalling. I have heard the appalling experiences of a number of doctors in recent weeks. I assure my hon. Friend that all of our arms exports are kept under constant review, and we are convinced that we have the right measures in place to ensure that they are done in accordance with the law.