Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help ensure Israel protects (a) civilians, (b) hospitals, (c) schools and (d) refugee camps in Gaza.

The UK is aware of reporting from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other trusted sources that have documented a number of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. We are clear that Israel has the right to defend itself, but its military operations must be in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. We have used public and private diplomatic channels as well as multilateral fora to underline this. On 10 November in the UN Security Council, the UK stressed that all parties to the conflict must abide by International Humanitarian Law, including by protecting civilians, civilian infrastructure and hospitals. The UK continues to press on Israeli counterparts the importance of taking all possible measures to protect civilians, including via the Prime Minister, the former Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for the Middle East.