Middle East and North Africa

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I know how dedicated my hon. Friend is to the case of his constituent. I raised in particular the cases in Iran, but I do not want the House to draw conclusions about relative priority. There are a range of cases across the world of great sensitivity, and I am sure that the Minister responsible for India, where my hon. Friend’s constituent was detained, would be happy to meet him to discuss the case further.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I welcome the Palestinian embassy, but with the crisis in Gaza still acute, the Israeli Government’s decision to strip NGOs of accreditation is unconscionable and puts vulnerable families at even greater risk. I welcome the steps taken to bring injured Gazan children here for treatment, but many are just too unwell to travel. What additional steps, whether through field hospitals, specialist equipment or teams and medicines, will the Minister take for children still in Gaza who are unable or not stable enough to travel to receive specialist treatment?

[Mr Falconer]

I need to be clear that the contribution that the UK has made to the provision of aid to children will always be a tiny drop in the ocean of overall need. We are working in the ways that I have set out to try to ensure that medical assistance is provided in Gaza, with all the equipment and expertise that that involves. Where that is not possible, we have provided aid to the Egyptian healthcare system, in order to support Palestinians there; I have met some of them myself, in El Arish general hospital. As I set out to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Riverside (Kim Johnson), where there are specialised cases, we must look at them, and I will say more to the House in due course about that.