Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 9 March (HL5115), what assessment they have made of reports that Hamas has diverted building materials to reconstruct tunnels adjacent to the border between Gaza and Israel.

DFID is providing £0.5million to the Materials Monitoring Unit (MMU) which oversees and monitors the import, storage, supply and use of construction materials into Gaza under the auspices of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM). This Mechanism is designed to ensure reconstruction material reaches those who need it most.

We continue to engage with the Palestinian Authority, the UN and the Government of Israel to ensure the mechanism continues to work as intended and that any possible infractions are reported.