Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of Israel’s blockade on Gaza’s capacity to respond to the covid-19 pandemic.

The UN assesses that although the current number of detected cases remains relatively low in?Gaza?and the West Bank, the capacity of the Palestinian health system to cope with an increase in COVID-19 cases is poor, including the low availability of PPE and ventilators. The situation is particularly severe in?Gaza, where the health system has shortages in specialised staff, drugs and equipment.

The UK remains deeply concerned about the restrictions on movement and access that affect Gaza. The restrictions impact infrastructure development, the delivery of vital humanitarian services and limit the professional development of health and humanitarian workers.

During this global crisis, cooperation is vital. The cooperation between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority towards tackling COVID-19, as well as the important part played by the United Nations, was a very welcomed response. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv and the British Consulate-General in Jerusalem are in regular contact with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities respectively. We encourage UN agencies, the PA and the Israeli Government to work together to ensure that essential medical supplies and staff are able to access Gaza.

DFID is providing £1.3 million (2018-21) to support the UN’s Access Coordination Unit (ACU), which works to ensure humanitarian access to Gaza for UN and NGO workers. The ACU has played an important role in facilitating movement of humanitarian personnel and goods during the COVID-19 crisis.