Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment has made of the adequacy of designated safe zones in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Ordinary civilians must be safe and able to access food, water and medical care. We have been clear that we would not support a major operation in Rafah unless there is a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives. We have not seen that plan so, in these circumstances, we would not support a major operation in Rafah.
We continue to press these points with our Israeli counterparts.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take diplomatic steps to ensure the reopening of the (a) Rafah and (b) Kerem Shalom crossings.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We have been clear that entry points for humanitarian aid, including Rafah and Kerem Shalom, must be reopened quickly to allow aid in. Israel must facilitate immediate uninterrupted humanitarian access in the south, including the entry of fuel, and ensure protection of civilians and safe passage for those who wish to leave Rafah. The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has pressed these points with the Israeli Government.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the humanitarian situation in Gaza on the delivery of maternity care.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK Government is closely monitoring the situation in Gaza and collects information from multiple sources, including on the status of healthcare provision. We are also in regular contact with humanitarian partners who operate in Gaza.
The UK is doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air. We trebled our aid commitment during the last financial year, including £4.25 million to the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, to provide life-saving support to vulnerable women and girls in Gaza. This support is expected to reach about 111,500 women, around 1 in 5 of the adult women in Gaza. It will support up to 100 community midwives, the distribution of around 20,000 menstrual hygiene management kits and 45,000 clean delivery kits.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the importance of upholding international law.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We have consistently called on all parties to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and ensure the protection of civilians. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this during his visit to Israel on 17 April.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the damage to (a) hospitals and (b) aid agency offices in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
It is clear that the international community will need to make a massive effort to deliver a reconstruction plan for Gaza
All parties must act within International Humanitarian Law. Hamas is putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure.
We also want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.
The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to increase the amount of aid getting into Gaza, deconflict with the UN and aid agencies, protect civilians and repair vital infrastructure like hospitals and water networks.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help support women and girls in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We trebled our aid commitment during Financial Year 23-24 to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme and the Egyptian Red Crescent. This includes £4.25 million to the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, to provide life-saving support to vulnerable women and girls in Gaza. This support is expected to reach about 111,500 women, around 1 in 5 of the adult women in Gaza. It will support up to 100 community midwives, the distribution of around 20,000 menstrual hygiene management kits and 45,000 clean delivery kits.
We have also provided targeted support for children through a £5.75 million contribution. This is supporting work to assist over 5,800 children with severe malnourishment and 853,000 children, adolescents and caregivers affected by the conflict, to receive emergency and child protection services, including mental health and psychosocial support.
Through our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict programmes and dedicated funding totalling £60 million since 2012, we are leading work internationally to prevent conflict-related sexual violence and strengthen justice and support for all survivors. We stand ready to use our PSVI expertise and tools to ensure victims and survivors of CRSV, both Israeli and Palestinian, receive the holistic and survivor-centred support they need.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2023 to Question 403 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of aid supplies to the Gaza strip; and what recent steps he has taken to support (a) Islamic Relief, (b) the Egyptian Red Crescent and (c) other aid agencies to deliver aid.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Palestinians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. We trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.
We need a humanitarian pause now to allow humanitarian actors and Gazans to operate and move safely, and enable hostages to be released.
We are also calling on Israel to increase access for aid through land routes and fully open Ashdod Port, scale up the Jordan corridor to the 500 trucks a week with a streamlined screening and delivery process, open a crossing in northern Gaza (Karni, Erez or a new crossing point), and increase screening capacity at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana to seven days a week and extended hours.
In addition, we want to see an expansion of the types of aid allowed into Gaza and Israel authorise at least 200,000 litres of fuel per day, as well as the provision of electricity, water and telecommunications, to both the north and the south of Gaza.
On 13 March the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £10 million to bring UK support to more than £100million this financial year. UK funding has supported the work of partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF and Egyptian Red Crescent Society. On 20 March the Foreign Secretary also announced that more than 2,000 tonnes of UK-funded food aid will be distributed by the World Food Programme. This will be the largest UK aid delivery so far and will support 275,000 people.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help support (a) civilians and (b) faith groups observe Ramadan in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and calls for places of worship to be respected. We want Israel to use all possible measures to protect the sanctity of holy sites. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets.
Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We are working with partners to help get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air. We also continue to call for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure the safety of health workers in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.
We need a humanitarian pause now to allow humanitarian actors and Gazans to operate and move safely, and enable hostages to be released.
We need Israel to ensure effective systems to guarantee the safety of aid convoys, humanitarian operations and IDP returns, and facilitate access.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) on the potential merits of including the precautionary principle as part of the marine protected area review underway in SGSSI.
Answered by David Rutley
The South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) Marine Protected Area (MPA) provides comprehensive protection across the entire maritime zone, which also allows small scale, highly regulated fishing, in a way that protects the unique marine ecosystem. The fishery is highly precautionary and has been rated as one of the most sustainable in the world by the Marine Stewardship Council. The Government of SGSSI is currently undertaking the second 5-year review of its MPA. The review is considering the effectiveness of the current MPA measures, including whether the underpinning scientific research and monitoring is sufficient, particularly in light of climate change. The review will determine whether additional measures are required to achieve the stated MPA objectives. The Government of SGSSI is committed to reporting on its review by early next year.