Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 January (HL12583), what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by the World Health Organisation Monthly Report December 2017: Health Access for Referral Patients from the Gaza Strip, published on 7 February 2018, that more than 13,000 Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza for medical treatment in 2017 in Israel.

DFID continually assesses the humanitarian context in Gaza, including the health sector, which remains under significant strain. Movement restrictions on patients seeking medical treatment outside Gaza remain a critical concern, particularly since the number of patients requesting access to medical care outside Gaza on a monthly basis increased significantly in 2018 compared to 2017. Recent information from the World Health Organisation Monthly Report November 2018: Health Access for Referral Patients from the Gaza Strip, published on 30 December 2018, showed that there is a positive trend over the prior 12 months for medical permits granted by the Government of Israel. However, access to some medical services, such as cancer treatment, remains constrained. The UK hopes to see this positive trend continue and for the wounded and critically ill in Gaza to be able to access the urgent medical care they need.