Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of recent reports of a weapons cache found by the Israel Defense Forces at the maternity ward at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Hamas is putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure. The UK is aware of reports of Hamas using healthcare facilities and other infrastructure, such as schools, as bases and command nodes.
All parties must act in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. All possible measures must be taken to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.