Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths of Palestinian civilians (a) without a ceasefire and (b) with weekly pauses between 14 November and 14 December 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
We have no means of independently verifying exact casualty numbers, and it is difficult for organisations like the UN to accurately verify estimates in Gaza. We recognise that there have been significant civilian casualties. We have been consistently clear that all sides must make all possible efforts to protect civilians and must abide by their international obligations and respect International Humanitarian Law. The UK is continuously assessing needs and advocating for access routes to be established into Gaza, sufficient levels of humanitarian assistance to flow into Gaza and calling for humanitarian pauses to allow aid to be safely distributed within Gaza. The UK Government has already announced £30 million in humanitarian funding and has sent more than 51 tonnes of emergency relief for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.