Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his (a) Egyptian and (b) Israeli counterparts on ensuring British nationals fleeing Gaza are not separated from their families.

As the Prime Minister and former Foreign Secretary have said, the safety of British nationals remains our top priority. We are working closely with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities round the clock to ensure our British nationals can leave Gaza as soon as possible. Humanitarian pauses are helping British nationals to leave Gaza and we are urging Israel to adhere to International Humanitarian Law. The UK has a team at the Rafah crossing to ensure we can provide the necessary consular and administrative support needed to British nationals when they cross. We are providing support for British nationals to get from Rafah to Cairo, where we have set up a reception centre and have arranged temporary accommodation. Additional Consular and Border Force staff are in country to support this work, as is an FCDO Rapid Deployment Team and a team of British Red Cross psychological support experts. More than 200 British nationals and their dependants have left Gaza so far; this is well over half of those who registered with the FCDO initially.