Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government' policies of the deaths of Palestinian civilians.

Since the beginning of the conflict and as of 22 October, 1,400 Israelis are reported killed and 4,941 wounded. 4,651 Palestinians are reported killed in Gaza and 91 in the West Bank. 14,245 are reported wounded in Gaza and 1,734 in the West Bank. More than 1,000 people have been reported missing and are presumed to be trapped or dead under the rubble. An estimated 1.4 million people in Gaza have been displaced, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Any civilian death is a tragedy. Since the Hamas terrorist attacks on 7 October, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have spoken to counterparts from almost 20 countries, as part of extensive diplomatic efforts to sustain the prospect of peace and stability in the Middle East. We will continue to use all the tools of British diplomacy to sustain the prospects of peace and stability in the region.