Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to get aid to where it is desperately needed. Our focus must be on practical solutions that save lives, and we need a humanitarian pause now to allow humanitarian actors and Gazans to operate and move safely, and enable hostages to be released. Israel must also take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza, including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity. We continue to press Israel to increase the flexibility and visibility on goods allowed into Gaza. It must:
The Foreign Secretary has also appointed his Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mark Bryson-Richardson, who is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the potential impact of Israel's dual use policy on getting aid into Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.
We have trebled our aid commitment for this financial year and are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to increase access.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on restrictions that have been placed by Israel on the types of aid that are permitted to enter Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.
The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
We have trebled our aid commitment for this financial year and are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to increase access.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
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 counterparts (a) in Libya and (b) internationally on de-escalating tensions in Libya.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to engage with Libyan interlocutors to encourage them to work constructively with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily as he seeks to facilitate a political agreement. This aims to address the underlying issues preventing elections, as demonstrated by the UK-led UN Presidential Statement on 16 March. We support SRSG Bathily's efforts to outline a way forward to a unified Government, and continue to work with Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Turkey, UAE and the US in support of the UN-led political process.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2024 to Question 8039 Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, how much and what proportion of UK aid destined for Gaza has been (a) shipped to Egypt and (b) held by the Egyptian Red Crescent Society as of 17 January 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has delivered 156 tonnes of UK aid for Gaza via Egypt. 74 tonnes were delivered on board ship RFA Lyme Bay and the remainder by air.
UK supplies have been passed on to our partners in the region and the majority are already in Gaza.
We have trebled our aid commitment for this financial year and are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to increase access.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help prevent regional conflict following strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to work with our allies and partners to safeguard maritime security and navigation rights and freedoms in the Red Sea.
The Foreign Secretary has discussed developments in the Red Sea with key interlocutors from Saudi Arabia (14 December), United Arab Emirates (16 December & 12 January), Egypt (20 December), Iran (31 December and 17 January), Oman (31 December and 14 January), United States (2 January), the Palestinian Authority (5 January), Italy (8 January), Cyprus (12 and 24 January), Turkey (12 January), Saudi Arabia ( 17 January), Government of Yemen (17 January), United States (17 January), UN Secretary General (17 January), Poland (17 January), Sweden (21 January) and Greece (21 January). He also sent messages to United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on 23 January providing an update on the 22 January strikes.
The UK, alongside international partners, condemned the Houthi attacks through a series of ministerial statements. This included a 1 December United Nations Security Council statement, a 19 December US led statement with 43 signatories, a 3 January statement clearly stating that continued attacks would have consequences, a 12 January statement after the first strikes signed by 10 countries and a 23 January statement after the second strikes signed by 24 countries. On 10 January the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 2722 affirming freedom of navigation and noting members states' right to defend their vessels.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We recognise that there is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza, and our focus now must be on practical solutions that save lives. The Foreign Secretary continues to discuss and press for the action that needs to be taken to increase aid to Gaza in his regular calls with his Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, US and Palestinian Authority counterparts; Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity. The UK also played a leading role in securing the passage of Security Council resolution 2720, which set out the urgent demand for expanded humanitarian access.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the comments on imposing a complete siege on Gaza by Israeli Defence Minister on 9 October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas, but it must comply with International Humanitarian Law and there must be a reduction in civilian casualties. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. The UK trebled our aid commitment this financial year and is doing everything it can to get more aid in and open more crossings. Israel must now take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the IPC Acute Food Insecurity Report on Gaza, published 21 December 2023, what assessment he has made of (a) the risk of famine in that region and (b) the potential implications for his policies.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), nine out of every 10 Palestinians in northern Gaza may be eating less than one meal a day. The situation is desperate - and projected to get worse. What matters is simple: more aid delivered by land, more quickly and more effectively. We have already supported the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza, with 750 metric tons of life-saving food aid arriving in the first delivery. The Foreign Secretary continues to discuss and press for the action that needs to be taken to increase aid to Gaza in his regular calls with his Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, US and Palestinian Authority counterparts. As he has outlined, Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether recent progress has been made towards opening the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza for humanitarian aid.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government welcomes Israel's opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing for humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza, including food, water, medicine and shelter. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were among the first to call on Israel to do this, including with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Significantly more aid needs to reach Gaza to address the humanitarian crisis. As the Foreign Secretary has set out, Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza, including extending the opening hours and capacity of the Kerem Shalom checkpoint so more trucks, aid and fuel can enter Gaza, and open the crossing seven days a week. The British Government continues to discuss and press for the action that needs to be taken to increase aid to Gaza in his regular calls with his Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, US and Palestinian Authority counterparts.