Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Elsie Blundell Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

On the last point, we have only just taken the powers in recent weeks, and I will not comment on future designations. On the aid that has been provided to date and what items we think are being blocked, I do not how much granular detail we can go into for operational reasons, but I will certainly try to write to my hon. Friend with some more information about the types of items and others that we have funded. I saw with my own eyes huge amounts of aid from a range of different donors sitting in warehouses in Egypt, unable to be delivered because the Israelis had denied it.

[Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)]

I am grateful to the Minister for his statement. Last night, my two-year-old daughter fell asleep next to me in a warm, dry home. In Gaza, mums and their two-years-olds were not sleeping; they were surrounded by flood water, frozen and drenched. As mums like me watch this from our living rooms in the UK, I am sure that I cannot be the only one thinking, “There but for the grace of God go I.” What new steps are being considered following Israel’s recent elections to make it clear that withholding the vital aid that we are providing, including to toddlers and babies, will not be tolerated now or throughout the extremely difficult winter still to come?

[Stephen Doughty]

My hon. Friend speaks with the passion and clarity of any parent in this House or, indeed, in Britain when looking at those scenes. That is fundamentally what should be motivating us in our efforts and in our commentary on this situation. Most importantly, we have to act, and that is exactly why we are going to use every route we have—directly with the Government of Israel, directly with the different agencies and authorities, at the United Nations, in our sanctions regimes, and ultimately in the direct aid and assistance that we can provide—to ensure that children do not have to go through the experience that she so powerfully described.