Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access Debate
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Jayne Kirkham
Main Page: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)Department Debates - View all Jayne Kirkham's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access
Jayne Kirkham Excerpts(2 days, 8 hours ago)
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Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
The IPC has declared only four famines since it was established in 2004. In August, it declared one in Gaza City. It said:
“this Famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed”.
The non-governmental organisations I have spoken to have been unable to get any aid into Gaza since March. Save the Children has 45 trucks of aid, including medicine, shelter items and hygiene kits, waiting in warehouses, and Oxfam has been unable to bring in any menstrual supplies.
Humanitarian access also means ensuring the safety of humanitarian workers. The year 2024 was the deadliest on record to be an aid worker, and Gaza is the deadliest place on Earth to be an aid worker. On 1 April 2024, one of my constituents, James Henderson, was killed alongside other aid workers from World Central Kitchen while taking humanitarian aid into Gaza. It was not an isolated incident. Between 7 October 2023 and August 2025, 508 humanitarian personnel have been killed.
I welcome the statement by the previous Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), on the IPC ruling made on 22 August. I also welcome the diplomatic and economic measures that the Government have already taken with allies. However, the situation is becoming ever more desperate. Many constituents constantly ask me what more we can do and what more action we can take. Some, such as Kerenza, who I saw yesterday, are taking time off work to support the flotilla, and some are protesting.
With the other three Labour MPs for Cornwall, I have asked for clear diplomatic and economic action with our allies, such as extending further sanctions—
