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Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered humanitarian aid and Gaza.
I thank everybody for attending this very important debate. I begin by paying tribute to the humanitarian aid workers in Gaza, who continue their lifesaving efforts and face impossible odds. Despite having every reason to lose hope, they remain steadfast in their mission to provide aid, and are the only source of survival and hope for the people of Gaza. Sadly, at least 289 of those brave individuals have been killed. I trust that Members present will join me in honouring each and every one of them.
The horrors facing the people of Gaza are overwhelming, reflecting Israel’s efforts to strip away their humanity. Since the attack on 7 October, the collective punishment inflicted on Gaza has been shocking. Ninety per cent. of the population has been displaced, being moved from pillar to post, and 96% face acute food insecurity. There have been over 42,000 deaths in the past year, although that number does not include the thousands of bodies still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings: loved ones who will never be recovered.
This debate is not about the Israelis’ military onslaught of Palestinian civilians in Gaza; it is about those being killed not by weapons, but by the lack of basic humanitarian assistance. Israel has weaponised the denial of aid, pushing the remaining Palestinians to the brink of death. The health crisis in Gaza is devastating. Since 7 October, at least 10 children per day have limbs amputated, many without anaesthesia. Over half a million of the population suffer from diseases such as jaundice, caused by malnutrition and the unsanitary conditions they are forced to live in. That is the size of almost half of Birmingham’s population.
Hospitals—the very places that could help—are in ruin; 31 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, and most United Nations healthcare stations, have been damaged or completely destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations. The Lancet estimates that the real death toll could be closer to 186,000, and with flood season approaching, the situation is set to get even worse.
It is not a case of shortage of aid, as we all know—we have all seen the thousands of trucks lined up on the border. This is a deliberate act. Israeli authorities are intentionally limiting the supply of vital aid. They have destroyed civilian infrastructure, such as schools, water stations, mosques and churches, and claimed military necessity. But the humanitarian workers on the ground tell a very different story. These are not military targets, yet the bombs keep falling and critical aid facilities are being obliterated.
Before 7 October, Gaza was receiving 508 aid trucks a day—just enough to keep the population afloat. Now the numbers stand at a mere 52 trucks, according to Oxfam aid workers.
Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)
Throughout the past 12 months, the UK Government have failed to highlight or prevent the Israeli Government’s denial of international assistance into Gaza and their clear breaches of international humanitarian law. The UK has also failed to highlight the Israeli Government’s not complying with International Court of Justice orders, which require them to facilitate the unimpeded access to Gaza of United Nations and other officials engaged in the provision of humanitarian aid. The UK is failing to stand up for international law as Israeli forces are forcibly transferring civilians as we speak—
Valerie Vaz (in the Chair)
Order. This should be an intervention, not a speech, because many people are waiting to speak.
Iqbal Mohamed
Does my hon. Friend agree that the UK must act urgently to enforce UK Security Council resolutions?
Ayoub Khan
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I think we are all singing off the same hymn sheet when it comes to what the UK should be doing.
Experts say that 2,000 trucks are required to address the current crisis, but only 52 are coming in at the moment. Aid convoys are being blocked not only at the checkpoints by Israeli soldiers; we have all witnessed some of the Israeli civilians blocking aid at crossings like Kerem Shalom and Nitzana. While the Israeli Army are competent to disperse thousands of protesters in Tel Aviv within minutes, they choose not to disperse the fewer than 100 protesters blocking life-saving aid. Even once they get through that blockade, they are shot at by IDF forces, either by snipers, drones or other military means.
We all know about the killings of the seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen charity, which included three British aid workers. That was despite the Israeli Army being given co-ordinates and information about locations.
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
The hon. Gentleman mentioned aid workers. Does he not agree that it is not just aid workers but those in the media, teachers, doctors and medical staff where we are seeing a discrediting and delegitimisation of the UN? He mentioned buildings, even the oldest church in Christendom. It feels like even within the rules of war, something has gone wrong here.
Ayoub Khan
Of course. The biggest problem we have is that journalists are not allowed in. One has to think about the reason why journalists are not being afforded the opportunity to report impartially—it is not happening. If the Israeli Government have nothing to hide, we would expect them to be welcoming journalists into the war zone. The risks are down to the journalists. However, we have seen this on an enormous scale. Journalists believe that they are being targeted specifically, so there is no reporting from within.
This is collective punishment on an enormous scale. There are no red lines for Netanyahu’s Government. The actions of the IDF over the past 369 days are not those of a moral army as Israel claims, but actions that have crossed every moral and legal boundary. Netanyahu’s pursuit of Gaza’s destruction is relentless and will not stop unless forced to do so. I welcome the reinstatement of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees funding by this Government, but we must do more.
Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)
I agree that calls for additional aid and safe routes for the delivery of aid into Gaza are vital and encouraged. However, does the hon. Member agree that questions must be raised as to the absurdity of a situation in which we as a country provide both the aid and the weapons to bomb the besieged people of Gaza?
Ayoub Khan
I agree, and I am sure there will be many similar contributions throughout this debate.
I welcome the Government’s reinstatement of UNRWA funding, but we must do more. We must address the root cause of the suffering, and an immediate, permanent ceasefire is absolutely essential. Diplomatic calls from Governments of various nations have fallen on deaf ears. The only option available now is to enforce a ceasefire through the prohibition of all arms sales to Israel. If the UK did that, it would send a clear message to others, who would inevitably follow suit, but innocent lives are being lost and the Government have done little to change the course of Israeli aggression. I ask the rhetorical question: how can we send aid with one hand while providing the weapons of destruction with the other? How can we claim to stand for morality and justice when we are complicit in this collective punishment?
Time is of the essence. Every 10 minutes, another child in Gaza dies. This regime of mass murder and destruction is fuelled by the west’s unconditional support and its granting of full impunity for breaches of international humanitarian law. The time for change is now, not later. Will the Minister admit that Israel is actively blocking efforts to distribute humanitarian aid and reach a ceasefire agreement? What will the Government do to encourage Israel to open border crossings for humanitarian aid?
Several hon. Members rose—
Valerie Vaz (in the Chair)
Order. A number of Members wish to speak, so I will impose an informal three-minute time limit. Please be kind to each other so you can all get in.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this absolutely crucial and essential debate.
Last night, my hon. Friends the Members for Blackburn (Mr Hussain) and for Birmingham Perry Barr and I attended a film showing by Al Jazeera at a cinema near here. The film showed very raw footage of the behaviour of Israeli soldiers in Gaza. It was about the destruction of life and of the appalling death toll of children, in particular, across Gaza. It showed soldiers cheering when they destroyed an entire Palestinian village. It showed pictures—devastatingly realistic in the horror they showed—of the torture of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Afterwards, we had a question and answer session with a number of lawyers, medical people and so on. A doctor said that when she tried to enter Gaza to act as a doctor, she was restricted to one suitcase and told that she had to bring in three days’ water supply, have her own personal security and have a car and a driver with her at all times just to undertake her work. She said that there are very few hospitals working in Gaza, and the conditions are appalling and abominable. Many doctors are now not working in Gaza any more because they simply cannot get in; Israel controls all access and exit. The small number of very brave and wonderful doctors who were working there are now being forced to go elsewhere. The film showed the way in which Israel’s occupation has been entirely directed towards the destruction of Palestinian life—Palestinian buildings, schools, roads, hospitals and everything else.
I have never forgotten going to Beech primary school in Jabalia refugee camp many years ago—a wonderful school in a wonderful place with wonderful children. With joy, the children sat down and read, through translation, the poetry they had written about their lives, their hopes and what they wanted to achieve. We then went on to the roof of the school, and we could see the fence on one side and, not that far away, the sea on the other. To the north, we could see Ashkelon. We could hear the sadness in their voices when they said, “We are never going to be able to go anywhere. We are never going to be able to travel anywhere. We are forever prisoners in this school and our homes,” but at least at that time they had homes and a school. I have seen the footage and seen the films; the school is totally destroyed. Many of those children who I met, who were so happy in those days, are now deceased. Famine is there in Gaza. It is recognised as a famine around the world. Polluted water, inadequate food, inadequate medical supplies—it is an absolutely appalling situation.
Yes, obviously we have to demand all the aid that we can to go into Gaza—we would do that for any people anywhere in the world—but when there are more than 40,000 recorded deaths, and possibly 100,000 more bodies waiting to be discovered under the rubble, the answer has to be a political one. Why are we still supplying arms to Israel, knowing full well that those arms, in contravention of ICJ rulings, are actually being used to bomb civilian targets in Gaza?
War crimes are being committed before our very eyes on our televisions every night. It is up to our Government to show that they believe in international law. If they did, they would halt the supply of weapons to Israel, because they know full well that those weapons are being used to destroy human life, in breach of all aspects of international humanitarian law.
Valerie Vaz (in the Chair)
I expect to take winding-up speeches from the Front Benches at about 4.5 pm.
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Ms Vaz. I also want to pay tribute to the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this important and timely debate.
A year on from the tragic terrorist attack by Hamas, with an estimated 101 people still being held hostage, we are seeing the devastating impact on innocent civilians caught up in this war. As we have heard, it is estimated that more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than 90,000 injured and up to 1.9 million internally displaced. Thousands of families are trapped, unable to leave their homes to find vital food and water, and many now face starvation.
Shortly after this conflict started I met with Islamic Relief UK, which is based in my constituency of Vauxhall and Camberwell Green. Staff spoke to me about the devastation and the impact on the ground in Gaza, including the bombing of their offices, and the fact that they lost contact with their aid workers for two days. Over the past year, Islamic Relief UK has distributed more than £26 million of aid to the people in Palestine. I pay tribute to Islamic Relief UK and the many other aid organisations and charities working on the ground, with their aid workers risking their own lives to help innocent civilians.
Along with many others, I welcomed the Foreign Secretary’s announcement, in his first statement to the House, that the UK would lift the pause on funding to UNRWA, and that an additional £21 million would be made available to support that work; but sadly, that money will be too late for the many people who have already died.
I had the opportunity to meet a senior representative from UNRWA last week, and he outlined three main challenges to me. The first was logistical: the vital aid continues to be blocked. There are an estimated 70 trucks going in, compared with the 400 pre this conflict. Moving aid around Gaza is nigh on impossible, with an estimated 30% of that aid being looted because people are just so desperate. Aid workers are being attacked.
The second was political: we all have to acknowledge the concerted attempt to discredit and undermine the work of UNRWA. As the Foreign Secretary stated:
“UNRWA is absolutely central to those efforts; no other agency can deliver aid on the scale needed.”—[Official Report, 19 July 2024; Vol. 752, c. 300.]
However, there are three Bills currently in the Knesset aimed at discrediting UNRWA’s operation in East Jerusalem, stripping its status as an aid agency and declaring it a terrorist organisation.
The third challenge was financial; there are still serious difficulties, and the largest donor—the US—has still not reinstated its funding. Is the Minister aware of today’s letter, co-signed by 15 leading aid agencies including Islamic Relief UK, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Oxfam, calling on the UK to continue to take a stand on upholding international law, to oppose the annexation in northern Gaza, to support the independence of the ICJ, and to review the sale of arms? As we enter the second year of this conflict, we restate our calls for an immediate ceasefire and lasting peace in the region.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to be under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on securing this debate.
Earlier this week, six Arab ambassadors came to speak to Members in this House, from not only Palestine and Lebanon, the two main protagonists, but Egypt, Saudi, Jordan and Bahrain, and they said that they spoke on behalf of the whole Arab community. The message they wanted to get across to Members was that long-term peace and security is attainable in the region; it has been for nearly 20 years now under the Arab peace initiative. Looking forward, that is still the prospect they want, which includes not just Arab states but the 58 Muslim states around the world not just recognising but co-operating fully with Israel.
However, what we have seen over the past year is the opposite; there has been the ratcheting up of violence. Now that has happened on both sides and nobody present holds a brief for Hamas or Hezbollah, but because of the asymmetric nature of this war, almost all the deaths post the terrible atrocity of 7 October last year have been predominantly among Palestinians—41,000 in Gaza and almost 1,000 in the west bank—as well as now over 2,000 Lebanese civilians. The question today is: what will the British Government’s response be? Yes, the Government have consistently called for a ceasefire. The Minister, who does his job excellently, has been very consistent in saying that, but there is no response; on the contrary—the atrocities get worse.
What is happening? We saw today another school attacked and nearly 30 people killed there, and there are attacks on UN positions by Israeli forces. Yes, the Government are right to emphasise aid—which is the subject of this debate—and the practicalities of getting aid in, but also those attacks on civilians are happening daily. There is the forcible transfer of the population. There are beaches of international law happening all the time. There is the collective punishment of the Palestinians, particularly in Gaza. There is famine and disease throughout the territory.
I say to the Minister gently that we need more from the Government now. We need to know what they will do to ensure a ceasefire. What practical steps can they take with allies? We also need—this was emphasised very much by the ambassadors this week—an early and clear recognition of the Palestinian state. Until that exists, it is almost impossible to frame the terms of a ceasefire and a lasting peace in the region, and that is what we need.
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Ind)
I want to raise again the issue of the evacuation of seriously injured children from Gaza. When the Ukraine war started, we very rapidly put in place a mechanism for the evacuation of injured children from Ukraine to hospitals here, to ensure that they had the appropriate treatment. It was a system that seemed to have worked effectively. Soon after the attack on Gaza, my friend Kate Hollern, who was the hon. Member for Blackburn, raised in this House the issue of trying to instigate a similar scheme for Palestinian children. I think she did that around November or December, but we heard nothing back. I raised the issue again on the Floor of the House with the then deputy Foreign Secretary—the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell)—and we were given an assurance. I had met with the voluntary organisation Save Gaza’s Children, which is based in France, and there is also Save A Child, which was doing work at that point to evacuate children to Italy and to other countries surrounding Palestine.
I raised the issue again in May because we had no response. Then the general election happened so I wrote to the Prime Minister, because I felt this needed a prime ministerial push to get it through. I raised it with the Foreign Secretary because we needed to ensure that our diplomatic efforts were involved, and I wrote to the Home Secretary as well because we needed the visa arrangements put in place. I never received a response.
I wrote again in August to the Minister for Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), and I did receive a response. However, it was not about the evacuation but the assistance being provided to organisations hopefully working as best they could within Gaza. So I wrote again, and I have not received a second response. I am not sure what is happening in Government on this. I understand that a new Government have come in and it is difficult settling down and sorting out arrangements, but this is a matter of urgency.
We have had further reports this morning of another hospital being attacked, and we have also heard reports of the doctors being threatened that if they did not evacuate they would be arrested. We have even had ambulance workers arrested this morning as well. They are being forced to choose between evacuating children from intensive care, which is risky, or leaving them behind, and as a result some doctors are risking their lives.
We could do exactly as we have done with Ukraine, by simply establishing a system to ensure that those seriously injured children are evacuated. Clinicians are willing to assist here; in fact, I have had clinicians contact me to say, “What can we do?” and “How can we assist?” I ask the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Hamish Falconer), to take this and come back as a matter of urgency. Children are dying as a result and we cannot stand to one side.
Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)
I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this afternoon’s debate. In the short time I have, I want to focus on the plight of Christians in Palestine. In April, I was honoured to meet Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest at the Holy Family church in Gaza, who informed a group of MPs of the tragedies that had befallen his flock, none more so than the killing of Nahida Anton and her daughter Samar. They were two parishioners at the church who were killed inside the parish compound by a sniper; several others were wounded.
It was the week before Christmas, a Christmas that for Palestinians would be observed under rubble, in ruins and in perpetual fear. Rev. Munther Isaac put that into words when he said:
“If Jesus was born today, he’d be born under the rubble of Gaza.”
We all know that places of worship should be protected under the Geneva conventions. I say “should be” because in this and many other instances, they are not. It is heartbreaking, then, to consider that both Nahida and Samar must have thought they were safe in church when, in fact, a sniper was targeting them. I cannot imagine what the family was going through.
What happened at the Holy Family church is a microcosm of the war itself: a war where human rights are ignored, where long-standing conventions are breached and where innocent people like Nahida and Samar are killed. Earlier this year, I asked the former deputy Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), whether the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office condemned the attack. He answered:
“We are not clear about the full facts of what happened.”—[Official Report, 8 January 2024; Vol. 743, c. 46.]
In contrast, Cardinal Vincent, the Archbishop of Westminster, was unambiguous. He said:
“They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”
He also said:
“The people in Gaza…are not given to tell lies.”
I implore the Minister from the bottom of my heart to listen to the Palestinians in Gaza, and reflect on the bitter injustices of Nahida and Samar’s deaths and all those who have suffered similar fates. The last time I spoke about Palestine in Westminster Hall, the death toll was 25,000. It is now, as we have heard, well over 41,000. I urge the Minister to use the full weight of the FCDO to bring this war to an end, and to commit to the Palestinian people that we will assist them in rebuilding their lives. We need diplomacy, not an all-out war. The people of Gaza cannot have another Christmas under the rubble.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
It is an honour to speak under your chairship, Ms Vaz, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for bringing this vital discussion. I want to reiterate and confirm what my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) said in discussing the children. The suffering of all victims of war is devastating, but when it comes to innocent children belonging to all faiths and no faith, it really does affect our humanity and our future.
This is my question to the Minister. As we speak, there are fewer than 16 hospitals standing in Gaza and there is nowhere for children to be treated. More than 50,000 children require treatment who are not even victims of the war; they are suffering from malnutrition and other ailments. Can we, like some of our European partners, look at avenues and mechanisms to bring those children here or treat them somewhere neutral to give them that much-needed support?
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for organising today’s debate.
The tragedy of Gaza just leaves us speechless. The devastation that we are witnessing on our screens is horrific, but to be in Gaza is unimaginable at this time. We stand by all those on both sides who are experiencing the trauma of loss, through hostage taking and lives lost.
We know that this can be prevented. It is immoral and it is man-made. We have to act more strongly. Of course, we have to end the sale of all arms, and end those export licences. We have to increase our funding to UNRWA, as the ambassador has called for, and we need to apply greater leverage, including sanctions, to ensure that we can get a political outcome.
I have to question what happened on 18 September at the UN General Assembly. We could have used our influence in that forum in a different way—124 countries, including our allies, France, Spain, Norway and New Zealand, had the courage to call for a ceasefire and to put that on record. It is one thing to call for something, but when we have a vote, that is decisive and it makes a difference. I just cannot comprehend why we did not use our leverage at that critical point to try and stand by the people who are suffering in Gaza right now.
We know that things are getting even worse, with the suffering getting even greater. We think about the seasonal change that is coming and the risks that come from that; we see the data from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, highlighting the scale of malnutrition, hunger and the spread of disease; we know that people are dying every day before our eyes and we could do more.
When the Minister and his colleagues are at those platforms, I ask that he does everything possible within his power to use that leverage to call this to an end. We cannot just cross by on the other side. We must not let perfection be the enemy of good. Even if resolutions are not perfect, we know that they can save lives, they can end the carnage and they can build the hope of having food, clean water and aid to heal wounds and bring pain relief. I say to the Minister that every opportunity must be utilised to ensure that we have the humanitarian response to end this nightmare.
Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Ind)
In February this year, I secured and led a debate on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. During the debate, I quoted Save the Children International’s chief executive officer’s harrowing plea:
“We are running out of words to describe the horror unfolding for Gaza’s children.”
Eight months later, it is absolutely and utterly devastating to be here again today, and that things have gone from bad to worse. As such, I urge the Government today to refrain from the insult of the usual euphemistic phrasing of speaking of too many civilians being killed or broad references to the humanitarian situation without condemning the actions that are so clearly responsible.
This is not about some random natural disaster. It is just beyond disturbing that so many cannot express a simple condemnation of the type of war being conducted by the Israeli military—the unprecedented death toll, the violence against women and children, the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure, the blocking of aid and the weaponisation of starvation.
It is just not enough to repeat the lines that Israel must uphold international human rights standards in theory, when it is so clear that they have not and are not doing so, and have effectively been given the go-ahead to continue to not do so. Quite frankly, the UK’s continued support and facilitation of this is absolutely shocking to my constituents, and indeed to the majority of people in the UK.
No matter the brutality of the censorship at home, the silencing or the spin, the inescapable truth is that civilians in Gaza, including large numbers of children, are facing healthcare shortages and diseases. This is what happens when hospitals are targeted and health and sanitation and other infrastructure is wilfully destroyed. My constituents have opposed this, but this is what the UK continues to facilitate. Civilians in Gaza, including large numbers of children, are not only starving, but being starved. This is what happens when food is being prevented from getting to those who need it. Civilians in Gaza, including large numbers of children, are not simply dying; they are being killed.
The lifting of the pause on funding the UNRWA is a welcome step forward, but as we speak, new mass displacement orders will worsen the entire, already dire, situation. I speculate that the Minister will likely assert something along the lines that aid must get to where it is needed in theory, yet everyone is clear that aid is being blocked and hindered by Israel, the UK’s close and staunch ally. The best way we know to ensure that aid is delivered is to secure a ceasefire. It is important that there is an arms embargo, including of F-35 fighter jets, which are being traded to be used against civilians. It has implications for global human rights benchmarks.
The horrors that continue to unfold before our eyes mean that we are being changed forever, but it has been made very clear that UK and US foreign policy interests are being pursued with an utter disregard for Palestinian life. It is chilling, and the complicity will never, ever be forgotten.
Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)
As politicians, we talk of the international rules-based system, by which we mean the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations, but often we do so only when it suits our position. When it does not, we ignore it. That is why it is crucial that we grasp the legal implications of the decision promulgated on 19 July this year by the International Court of Justice. It settled the law in its advisory opinion on the legality of Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory. The opinion came from a request by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2022, and I believe it carries immense weight. It is the interpretation of our world’s highest court of law as it relates to the occupation of Palestine.
The court ruled that the occupied Palestinian territory is to be considered a single territorial unit, which means that the failure to recognise Palestine as a state is now out of step with international law. On 10 September, Palestine took its seat at the 79th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. It is not yet a full member, because it has been blocked by the United States, but it has the right to submit proposals and amendments. The Government of the UK still does not recognise the Palestinian state, and I believe that that is now incompatible with international law.
The court ruled that settlements and outposts in the west bank and East Jerusalem were unlawful. It does not matter that Israeli law considers settlements to be lawful; they are not, and they should be evacuated. The court ruled that Israel’s exploitation of natural resources in settled land was also unlawful. The court ruled that Israel occupied Gaza. It ruled that it occupied the west bank and East Jerusalem. It ruled that that occupation was unlawful. It ruled that the occupation must be brought to an end.
That also means that, in its actions, Israel must behave not as a warring nation state against another warring state, but as an occupying force, with all the obligations that entails about its conduct, including ensuring that aid can get through to all who need it. Israel ought to cease its unlawful activities, halt all new settlement activity and provide full reparation for the damage caused by its wrongful acts, which includes returning land, property and assets seized since the occupation began in 1967 and allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their original places of residence.
The court made it clear that other states also have obligations. It emphasised that all states are required not to recognise the illegal situation created by Israel’s actions in the occupied territories. That means that they should not engage in trade, investment or diplomatic relations that would entrench Israel’s unlawful presence. The advisory opinion is a landmark in the legal and political struggle over the fate of the Palestinian people and the integrity of international law. It highlights the obligations of all states, including the United Kingdom, to ensure that the rule of law prevails. We are all duty bound not only to act in the interests of justice and human rights, but to uphold the very principles of international law. That is the law. It is clear. It has been authoritatively stated by the court. What is not clear is whether Governments will abide by it. The law can state, the court can rule, but none of it brings about anything unless the power of enforcement lies behind it.
In the UK we are very fond of saying that we respect the international court and the international rules-based order. My challenge to the Minister is this: show it.
Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)
I repeat again the absurdity of the situation whereby we give aid with one hand to the besieged population of Gaza and provide weapons with the other, which has created the catastrophic circumstances that have taken the lives of over 40,000. Although the Prime Minister has made his position on the refusal to stop all the arms sales to Israel abundantly clear in Parliament just this week, I will none the less press the matter. Will the Minister assure us, especially in the light of further news today of a school housing displaced civilians in Gaza being bombed? Just weeks ago, a humanitarian safe zone, al-Mawasi, a camp identified by Israel itself, was bombed, with families dissipated in seconds. I therefore ask the Minister once again whether the Government’s position on arms sales to Israel will be revisited. Can he also answer whether, given the abundance of evidence already available, arms sales to a country plausibly accused of committing genocide can be morally or legally justified?
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair this afternoon, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on securing this debate. Before the recent recess, I tabled a written question to the Government. The answer is overdue, so I will briefly provide the background and put it to the Minister.
On 2 September, the Government revoked licences for all items used in the current conflict in Gaza that go to the Israel Defence Forces. It did so because there exists a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. This is evidenced by events such as the IDF-confirmed use of 2,000 lb bombs, bunker-busting bombs, in a declared safe zone in al-Mawasi in July when they killed at least 90 Palestinians and injured over 30.
The revocation includes licences for F-35 fighter jet components where they go directly to Israel. They are revoked, but those in the supply chain in the global pool are not. Clearly, the components can still be used to facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law and to frustrate humanitarian aid. So I ask my Government to make it their policy to seek to negotiate an end-use agreement with F-35 programme supply chain and electronic stockpile management system counterparts, to end the re-export of F-35s to Israel.
The Dutch Government have suspended direct sales but continue to supply the global pool, but surely a discussion must be had with partner nations on managing the programme so that the global pool of spare parts is not used to repair Israeli F-35 jets. Unless the issue is raised and resolved with partner nations, I submit that the Government are at risk of breaching our own commitments to upholding international humanitarian law. I pray in aid the UN inquiry, which said today that it found that Israel carried out a “concerted policy” of destroying Gaza’s healthcare systems in the Gaza war—actions amounting to both
“war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination”,
so I urge my Government to utilise all the levers at their disposal, and accept that the recognition of the state of Palestine is a prerequisite of peace—and that the optimal time to do so is now.
Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this important debate.
It is impossible to do justice to the horrors in Gaza—famine conditions and polio among them—in the short time we have today. I was in Gaza in April this year, six months into the horrific humanitarian catastrophe that continues now. What I witnessed then was haunting, and it is so much worse in Gaza today.
I wish to raise two main issues. First, there are alarming reports in the Israeli media that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is considering a proposal from Smotrich and Ben Gvir, the far-right members of his Cabinet, which would effectively prevent aid agencies, including the UN, from operating or distributing aid in Gaza. Instead, it would hand all such responsibility to the Israeli military, reportedly including the running of field hospitals. There are many reasons why that would be unacceptable.
In January this year, the International Court of Justice ordered “immediate and effective” measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide by ensuring sufficient humanitarian assistance and enabling access to basic services. Despite that, the number of aid trucks that entered Gaza last month was the lowest we have seen since the start of the year. This is not an accident; the aid is deliberately obstructed by the Israeli Government. In April, I saw the queues of hundreds of trucks filled with aid stuck at crossings into Gaza. The aid is there—it is simply not allowed to enter Gaza in the quantities needed, nor are aid workers allowed to safely distribute it. The fact that more than 300 aid workers and almost 1,000 healthcare workers have been killed in the last year is testament to that.
When I left Gaza, I also visited warehouses full of aid items rejected by the Israeli authorities. I checked the list this morning, preparing for this debate. It included: wooden and metal crutches, wheelchairs, green sleeping bags, commodes, solar lamps, first-aid kits, an anaesthesia machine, generators, a bag of UNICEF footballs, bleach, and pots and pans. I could go on. The idea that a Government and military who do this should be allowed to take operational control of a humanitarian aid effort is unconscionable. I ask the Minister to be clear today that our Government oppose this, and to raise the subject with the Israelis. There is no excuse for the Israeli Government’s denial of Palestinian’s access to humanitarian aid. It is a violation of international law.
Secondly, the situation for civilians across Gaza is a living nightmare. Worst of all is the situation for civilians in the north, who have been trapped for over a year now. Months ago, civilians there were eating grass and animal feed to try to survive, and it is so much worse now. I want to raise alarm at the Israeli military’s most recent forced displacement orders for civilians in the north of Gaza being told to move south. This includes orders to evacuate critically ill patients and healthcare workers from the Al-Awda, Indonesian and Kamal Adwan hospitals. This morning I saw footage of intubated children and babies in incubators in the paediatric intensive care unit at Kamal Adwan hospital; they cannot evacuate, and even if they could, there is nowhere safe to go. Does the Minister agree that this military action is intolerable, unacceptable and must end?
Our new Government have taken important first steps on UNRWA, arms and the ICC. There is much more to do. It is true that the Palestinians of Gaza need a ceasefire and access to aid, and aid workers need to be able to work safely, but Palestinians do not just need aid. They have the same rights to safety, freedom and dignity as everyone else, and we in this House would do well to remember that.
Tony Vaughan (Folkestone and Hythe) (Lab)
It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz, and I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing the debate.
The situation in Gaza is horrific and tragic. The British Red Cross has stated that more than 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza, and many more have been injured and displaced. Hostages are still being held and survivors are traumatised.
The meetings that I have attended with ambassadors from the region have searingly impressed upon me how desperate and urgent the situation now is in Gaza and the west bank. Making sure that enough aid enters and is properly distributed to the people in Gaza is a moral imperative. It is also a legal imperative. In January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocide, in order to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians, but that order is not yet being complied with. As hon. Friends have said, aid is still being blocked. It is of particular concern that the Israeli military are forcing hospitals—which are full of displaced civilians, medical staff and sick patients, all of whom are protected under international law—to shut down. The health system in Gaza must not be allowed to collapse.
I thank the Minister for all his work on this issue. Will he confirm that the UK is taking urgent action to stop Israel forcibly displacing Palestinians from the north; to ensure that adequate aid reaches those who need it; to ensure that civilians, including those in hospitals and in their homes, are protected at all times; and, ultimately, to secure an urgent ceasefire? Respect for the international rule of law requires this.
Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to speak under your chairpersonship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on securing this crucial debate, which coincides with today’s nationwide workplace day of action for Palestine.
This past year has been marked by indiscriminate loss, with lives tragically taken on 7 October last year and in the ongoing horrors that we have witnessed unfolding since then. Over 41,000 people have been reported killed in Gaza, alongside 695 in the west bank, with many more unaccounted for beneath the rubble.
The impact on women and children has been particularly severe, with Oxfam reporting last week that more women and children have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military in the past year than have been killed in any other conflict in the last two decades. In addition to the ongoing daily bombardment, the malnutrition, disease and unmet medical needs pose an even greater threat to Palestinian lives.
Yesterday marked a year since Israel’s Minister of Defence declared a “complete siege” on Gaza, stating that there would be:
“No electricity, no food, no water, no gas—it’s all closed.”
The humanitarian crisis that has followed has been beyond comprehension. Approximately 83% of required food aid is blocked from entering Gaza, while the risk of famine becomes more imminent. Over 70% of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, has been destroyed, with more than 500 recorded attacks on medical facilities and hundreds of healthcare workers having been killed. Last month, the United Nations reported that the number of aid workers killed in Gaza in the past year is the highest ever recorded in a single crisis.
With food aid and healthcare are under attack, and aid workers paying the ultimate price for their efforts to provide relief, we must urgently address this humanitarian disaster and ensure that unimpeded aid reaches all those who so desperately need it. I welcome the actions taken by the Labour Government in our first months in office to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. We have restored funding to UNRWA and engaged with the United Nations Security Council to ensure that there is a global focus on protecting civilians in Gaza. However, given the scale of the crisis, our Government should be doing everything in their power to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Without one, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza will worsen, essential aid will be obstructed and suffering will be prolonged.
The decision in September to suspend about 30 UK arms export licences to Israel from a total of approximately 350 marked a crucial step towards achieving a ceasefire for all Palestinians and Israelis. However, by excluding export licences for F-35 fighter jet parts from that announcement, the UK risks complicity in Israel’s potential violations of international law. F-35s, described as the most lethal fighter jets in the world, are partly manufactured in Britain and are currently deployed in Gaza, causing significant civilian casualties and hindering the distribution of aid while destroying vital healthcare infrastructure. Can the Minister clarify how the decision to continue allowing licences for F-35 components exported via third-party countries aligns with the UK’s international legal obligations? How does this approach ensure that critical aid can be delivered securely to alleviate the suffering in Gaza, especially given the risks to medical workers and the destruction of healthcare facilities?
We must urgently end these atrocities and stand for humanity. Allowing the horrifying decline of this conflict to continue will lead to even greater consequences. Diolch yn fawr.
Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz.
The people of Gaza are being let down by the international community. We have reached a point where the human suffering and cultural devastation in the area is undeniable, yet we continue to fail to provide a sustainable amount of life-saving aid. The Palestinian people should not be subjected to a lack of food, water and medical supplies.
I have received hundreds of emails from the constituents of Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley, who are extremely worried about the restrictions on food and humanitarian aid due to the new customs rule on aid trucks enforced by the Israeli Government. The United Nations reports that in September, more than 90% of efforts to get trucks into Gaza were either denied or delayed by the Israeli Government.
Palestinian children are suffering the most from the catastrophic restrictions imposed on them. Over 2 million people—more than 90% of the population of Gaza—are living in tents after being forced from their homes by the Israeli Government’s actions. This will prove to be a deadly winter, with the danger of hypothermia. Israel’s ongoing attack is punishing the Palestinian people by denying them the human right to adequate housing.
Now is the time for action. We have heard words in this House for more than 12 months, but it is about time they were translated into action. Israel must be held accountable for the war crimes it is committing, and this Government must now stop all arms sales to Israel. The international community needs to work together and look for viable ways to get vital aid into Gaza.
Finally, we need to push for a full, permanent ceasefire to stop this humanitarian disaster, and give international organisations proper access to Gaza. I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this debate.
Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)
It does not need saying, because everyone with eyes can see it, but we cannot say it often enough: too many civilians have died over the last year in the middle east. It is so important that as few as possible follow them.
Before being elected, I worked at Save the Children, and I have worked on migration policy for the past 15 years. I am profoundly worried by the high levels of displacement we are seeing in the middle east. One million people have been displaced in Lebanon. Within Gaza, it is estimated that nine in 10 people have been displaced at some point. This is awful for those personally affected, but it is also profoundly politically destabilising to an already febrile situation, and it adds to the potential for escalation and therefore miscalculation.
We should be terrified of escalation and miscalculation. That is the biggest threat to the humanitarian situation, because we have already seen things escalate appallingly quickly. We must be clear: “escalate to de-escalate” is a falsehood, it is misguided and it will strategically misfire for all. Will the Government strain every sinew to avoid further escalation in the middle east? The reason is not just political or diplomatic; it is humanitarian. Too many have died already, and the only way to stop more joining them is by stopping escalation.
I know that the Minister will be constrained in what he can say today. I welcome the decisions on UNRWA, arms and the ICC, and the commitment to the rule of law, but can he reassure us that the Government’s aim in this situation is de-escalation for humanitarian purposes?
Valerie Vaz (in the Chair)
We will try to get everyone in. We have three people and I want to start wind-ups at 4.5 pm, so please keep it short.
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this important and timely debate.
Earlier this week, the House marked the one-year anniversary of the 7 October atrocities. On that day and the days that followed, Hamas and other groups intended to ignite a wider war, and the death and destruction that would follow in its wake. Today, when over 2 million people have been displaced, over 40,000 Palestinians are dead and the threat of wider war looms all too closely, we must redouble our efforts in pursuit of an immediate ceasefire, the return of hostages and real progress—after these long years—towards a two-state solution that upholds the dignity of the Palestinian people and the security and territorial integrity of both nations.
Six months ago, the Israeli Defence Minister said:
“We plan to flood Gaza with aid and we are expecting to reach 500 trucks per day.”
However, since then the World Health Organisation has warned that lifesaving hospital aid has been cut off, and the UN has warned that starvation has spread throughout Gaza. There were just 52 aid trucks each day in September —a bare tenth of the pre-October rates and far short of the total needed to relieve the extreme distress.
Noting the UK Government’s existing assessment that Israel is not ensuring that lifesaving food and medical supplies are reaching civilians in Gaza, I ask the Minister to update us today on what representations and protests the UK Government have made to the Israeli Government on the entry of food and aid into Gaza. Secondly, what steps are the Government taking to work with aid agencies and civil society to offer protection to aid workers, including British aid workers, who face unacceptable risk? Finally, will he give us a broader update on the UK Government’s efforts to progress ceasefire talks and bring forward a credible reconstruction programme in Gaza?
I know that hon. Members welcome the decision to reinstate UNRWA funding, but that cannot be the end of the process. I also know that the Minister takes this important matter seriously, and I hope he will ensure that there is further debate and scrutiny in this House.
Blair McDougall (East Renfrewshire) (Lab)
I began this week by speaking to commemorate the hostages who were taken on 7 October. I see no contradiction in ending it by recognising the horror of the humanitarian situation within Gaza. It is important to put it on the record that people in Gaza do not choose to be ruled by Hamas. A poll published last month showed that two thirds of people in Gaza support a two-state solution, not the destruction of Israel, and only 6% support Hamas.
In the short time I have, I want to ask the Minister to reflect on three particular things. First, in a deeply uncertain environment, we know one thing: winter is coming. It is about to get colder and wetter, and the lower immunity that people have due to malnutrition—particularly children—means an increased risk of respiratory diseases, diarrhoea and other common diseases. Along with others, I ask the Minister what more he can do to ensure that more shelter and more hygiene kits are allowed through to reach those who need it.
Secondly, looking beyond the ceasefire that we all want, I want to talk about the long tail of insecurity within Gaza. Dozens of bakeries have been destroyed and about two thirds of agricultural land has been damaged in some way. Fields, greenhouses, polytunnels and irritation systems have been damaged. The plan for the day after has to start now. What plans do the Government have to ensure that horticulture, livestock farming and fishing are restored and the bakeries and markets rebuilt? Otherwise, this will be not a short-term emergency but a long-term problem.
Finally, after the 2014 Gaza war generous pledges were made by international donors for reconstruction. In some cases, the funds pledged simply did not come through. In many cases, attempts to reconstruct were blocked by the Israeli Government. There were other cases. For example, Fatah accused Hamas of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of reconstruction aid. In 2014, about 150,000 properties were damaged in some way. This war has far outstripped that. What can the Minister do, working with international partners, to ensure that the failures after the last 2014 war in Gaza are not repeated?
Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)
I speak as someone who knew Gaza in the happy times when, as a young university researcher, I went with my Israeli friends from Kibbutz Re’im to meet their Arab friends in Gaza City to drink coffee and trade. We have heard in the debate about the horror and the passion. We have also heard of solutions, a recognition of the state of Palestine and, indeed, the inclusion of the evacuation of wounded children.
War is a horrible thing, and it makes people behave badly, especially when they feel—and, indeed, have been—hurt as the Israelis have been by the events of 7 October last year. There are things that can be done, which we have heard today, including the release of the hostages and the end of the war, but there are also things that must be done in the future to see Palestine’s future assured, such as the closure of the illegal settlements in the west bank and the rebuilding of Gaza itself. For that to happen, trust needs to be built, and for that to be built, our Government need to be talking to not just the leadership but the opposition in Israel. Jaw-jaw is indeed better than war-war.
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on securing the debate on this most critical issue. This is my first contribution in my capacity as Liberal Democrat spokesperson for international development, and this is a hugely pressing issue.
Hon. Members have spoken of the many aid agencies working in incredibly difficult situations and risking their lives. I want to add my voice to the tributes paid to them. Liberal Democrats share the calls we have heard today for an immediate recognition of a Palestinian state and urge the Government to use every lever they have to de-escalate the conflict. Conflict is escalating in the middle east. We are on the brink of a regional war, which would be of devastating consequence to innocent civilians, be they Palestinian, Lebanese, Israeli or Iranian.
We now face a second humanitarian crisis in the region in Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands are already displaced in addition to the many Syrian refugees already living in Lebanon. We cannot afford for Lebanon to become a failed state. We welcome the increase in aid to Lebanon of £10 million but, frankly, that is a drop in the ocean. As recently as 2019-20, the UK ODA allocation to Lebanon was over £200 million. This year we are looking at less than £20 million.
Amidst the tensions in the region, we cannot and must not forget Gaza. The Liberal Democrats continue to call for an immediate bilateral ceasefire in Gaza to resolve the humanitarian devastation there, get the hostages out and open the door to a two-state solution.
There is clearly a dire humanitarian need in the strip. Amidst an escalation of the conflict in the region, the flow of essential goods into Gaza has been critically restricted, causing a drop in aid supplies and a critical shortage of commercial goods. Aid entering Gaza has plummeted to its lowest level in months. If the flow of assistance does not resume, more than 1 million vulnerable people will lose the assistance they rely on in October. Three quarters of Gaza’s population rely on food aid to survive. People have run out of ways to cope, food systems have collapsed and the risk of famine persists. The World Health Organisation is now looking to carry out the second phase of a polio inoculation campaign after the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years was found over the summer.
First, we call on the UK Government to increase humanitarian support to Gaza. The Liberal Democrats have long urged the Government to restore the 0.7% of national income target for international development spending—indeed, when in government, we enshrined that target in law. Now that the aid budget has been so depleted, we face humanitarian crises such as these with one hand tied behind our back. We continue to urge the Government to look again at returning to 0.7%. There are also specific problems with getting aid into Gaza. Not enough humanitarian aid is getting into the strip, and the Rafah crossing is shut. I hope that the Minister will provide an update on what exchanges he and his counterparts have had with all relevant agencies, in particular with the Israeli Government, to ensure that aid is stepped up.
Secondly, we know that there are particular problems with the distribution of aid in Gaza, with no deconfliction system in place. We have heard about how aid entering into one part of the strip does not get to its intended destination, because human need is so great along the way. Will the Minister update us on what work the FCDO is doing to try to make it easier and safer for aid to be distributed in a manner that protects the safety of aid workers?
Thirdly, we are now moving into the winter months, and as the temperatures drop they pose particular challenges to the humanitarian situation in the strip. It is vital that we act now and quickly with our allies to do all we can to ensure that we can support Gazans through these winter months and beyond. Will the Minister update us on what steps he and his ministerial colleagues are taking to that end?
Fourthly, the Liberal Democrats welcome the Government’s decision to once again provide UK ODA to UNRWA. Will the Minister update us on what conversations he has had with counterparts in UNRWA, including on the implementation of the Colonna report? It is vital that these recommendations are implemented as soon as possible, thereby ensuring that all work to support Palestinians in Gaza is of the highest possible standards and integrity.
Finally, looking across from Gaza into the west bank, will the Minister update us on the level of UK ODA being provided to support the Palestinian Authority? Supporting the Palestinian Authority and improving wider conditions for Palestinians is absolutely vital at this difficult moment.
Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. This afternoon has been an opportunity to hear voices from across the United Kingdom. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on securing the debate. We have heard voices not only from Birmingham, but from London and across the English home counties. We have heard strong Scottish voices, and we have heard from Durham and York. In the interests of time, I will not list every constituency from which we heard passionately and expressively that the Palestinians face a devastating humanitarian crisis, but the UK should continue to play a leading role in alleviating that suffering.
This week of all weeks, however, we must remind ourselves that on 7 October Israel suffered an appalling attack—a modern-day pogrom. It was the worst loss of Jewish life since the second world war, a horrific display of antisemitism and a brutal reminder of the existential threats that Israel must contend with. We must always state that Israel has the right to defend itself in accordance with international humanitarian law.
As we have heard, so many innocent civilians are suffering not only in Israel, but in Gaza and now Lebanon. This conflict must come to a sustainable end as quickly as possible, starting with the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages captive in Gaza, including the British citizen Emily Damari. Can I ask the Minister—a former hostage negotiator himself—for an update on the Government’s efforts to secure her release and the release of the other hostages who are in such awful jeopardy?
The previous UK Government trebled our aid commitment in the last financial year and facilitated aid flows into Gaza by land, sea and air. In the interests of time, I will not list them all; I will focus on the 11 airdrops delivered directly to Gaza through a temporary marine corridor that was supported by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the funding of field hospitals to treat thousands of patients. Can the Minister confirm that these efforts continue under the new Government?
During the previous Government, Israel committed to increasing the amount of aid getting into Gaza, including by allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid through Ashdod and Erez, extending the opening hours of Kerem Shalom, increasing the total number of aid trucks to at least 500 a day, and allowing more types of aid, including fuel for bakeries and hospitals. We welcome the recent pause for polio vaccinations and wish to put on record our gratitude to the World Health Organisation, the British Red Cross, the World Food Programme and UNICEF staff, who are doing vital humanitarian work and should be commended.
As we have heard today, aid workers are not a target. Protecting humanitarian actors must be a priority, and guaranteed deconfliction for aid convoys and other humanitarian work is essential. We should also take this opportunity to pay tribute to all of the brave aid workers in Gaza and our fellow citizens James Kirby, John Chapman and James Henderson who were killed delivering aid in Gaza earlier this year.
Can we have an update from the Minister on the work that the Government are doing to advance on these key areas? What steps have they taken to help to increase the amount of aid getting over the border into Gaza? What additional aid, supplies and humanitarian support has the UK sent? What action have the Government taken to make the case for the protection of the humanitarian personnel on the ground distributing that aid?
In the interests of time, I will skip over the situation with UNRWA, but I want to hear an update from the Minister on the implementation of the Colonna recommendations and the UK Government’s scrutiny of it. As we heard earlier this week from the Leader of the Opposition, the situation in the middle east is grave. There is no equivalence between Iran’s terrorist proxies and Israel. Israel has a right to defend itself, and we support it in those goals, but too many innocent civilian lives have been lost and irreparably changed by this conflict. The UK should continue to carefully support them through our humanitarian aid commitments, and I look forward to the Minister reporting to us on the progress made.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this important debate, and I thank you, Ms Vaz, for your expert management of today’s proceedings. This is my first debate in this place, so I am sure that I will be considerably less expert, and I beg your indulgence at the outset. I will try to be brief so that I can give the hon. Member an opportunity to respond.
As many have said, this week marked one year since Hamas’s brutal attack against Israel. It was the worst attack in its history and without doubt the darkest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. As many have said in this Chamber, my thoughts are with Jewish people around the world and the Jewish community here in the United Kingdom. More than 1,000 people were massacred, hundreds were taken hostage and many are still cruelly detained today, including Emily Damari. I reiterate our commitment to bringing those hostages home; we will not give up until they are, and work is ongoing on that.
However, as has been the subject of most of the interventions, we also look back on a year of devastating conflict and suffering. I will say a little about the Government’s assessment of the situation in Gaza, then, in the time available, I will focus particularly on the humanitarian situation. I recognise that it is my fault that there are some late parliamentary questions on these issues, particularly relating to the detail on F-35s, and I will be pleased to respond in writing.
A year on, close to 42,000 people have now been killed in Gaza, with over half of all bodies identified being women and children. We believe that more than 90% of the population has been displaced, many of them repeatedly. There is now simply no safe place to go. The humanitarian zone covers less than 15% of the Gaza strip, and as has been mentioned, not even that is always safe. It is chronically overcrowded and the lack of clean water and sanitation means that the risk of disease is rife.
Reference has also been made to the severe lack of food which, according to the IPC, means that the whole population is at risk of starvation, and we expect a further update on that in due course. Sixty-six per cent of buildings, including hospitals—as many have mentioned—are damaged or destroyed. Parents cannot feed their children. Children cannot go to school. Families cannot support each other. I have been asked many questions by contributors about humanitarian access, and I want to be clear on the Government’s position: it remains wholly inadequate. There have been repeated attacks on convoys, evacuation orders have undermined operations and the level is far below Israel’s commitment to flood Gaza with aid.
Andy McDonald
I raised earlier the question of the Israeli military action to which the Minister has just referred. In the past hour or so, the UN has stated on its website:
“Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon early Thursday morning.”
Two peacekeepers were injured, which is yet further evidence that Israel behaves with complete contempt and disregard for international law and norms. Will he join me in condemning such action?
Hamish Falconer
They have only just come in, but we are very concerned about reports of attacks on staff of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. The work of UN peacekeepers is incredibly important and a vital contribution to global peace and security. We will be able to say more as reports become clearer.
The situation in Gaza is a catastrophe on all counts. A few contributors have mentioned winterisation. We are deeply concerned that winter is coming in and the shortage of aid into Gaza means that most of the civilian population is unprepared for the drop in temperature. I will be visiting the region next week in part to look into some of those matters further. We intend to work together with our allies. Since entering office in July, we have made a series of key decisions. Along with our allies, we have been pushing for an immediate ceasefire since day 1, and I was confused by the reference to our position on 18 September. We have been calling for an immediate ceasefire since 4 July, and we will continue to call for an immediate ceasefire. The fact that is has not yet been abided by does not in any way undermine the urgency of what we are doing.
Rachael Maskell
I was referring to the UN General Assembly resolution where we did not vote with 124 countries.
Hamish Falconer
I think that is an issue in relation to the advisory opinion of the ICJ rather than the ceasefire; that is how I understood my hon. Friend’s remarks. I will stick to the ceasefire now, and I can come to the advisory opinion later. We are clear that we need a ceasefire; we need a ceasefire in Gaza and we need a ceasefire in Lebanon. It is clearly a statement of fact that neither of those things is happening, and we continue to work behind the scenes with our partners to try to achieve that. That point has been made by both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, as well as the whole ministerial team in the Foreign Office.
We are repeatedly urging our Israeli counterparts— I think it is on this issue that I have received the most questions over the afternoon. We are asking them to take three key steps. The first is to take all necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties, and we have heard many lurid examples of where that has not been the case. The second is to ensure that aid can flow freely into Gaza through all land routes, and many contributors have described how that is not currently the case. The third is to allow the UN and its humanitarian partners to operate safely and effectively. I recognise some of the concerns raised this afternoon about the functioning of UNRWA, so I will say a little bit about that.
Barry Gardiner
I congratulate the Minister on making his maiden address. Can he reflect on the verb that he used? He said that we have been “asking” Israel to do those three things. He then went on to elaborate that none of those three had actually been fulfilled. Is it not time to stop “asking” and to do something a little stronger?
Hamish Falconer
My colleague will understand that there is a difference between what we can say in public and what we can say in private. However, I reassure him that those points are being made to partners with force, with emphasis and with consistency. As he will have seen through a number of forums over the last few weeks, the UK has made its position absolutely clear. It is, of course, a frustration to me that at this stage, and since we came into power in July, we are still having some of those discussions, so I recognise the frustration in his voice.
On my first day as a Minister, we lifted the funding pause on UNRWA. We provided £21 million to support its humanitarian appeal in Gaza. No other agency can deliver aid to Gaza on the scale that is needed. We must support UNRWA to do its job effectively. Of course, in delivering, we expect it to meet the highest standards of neutrality, as laid out in Catherine Colonna’s independent review, and the Minister for Development has met her to discuss such matters. Of our funding to UNRWA this year, £1 million has gone to support the implementation of its agreed action plan. However, I take note of the reference to some of the discussions in the Israeli Knesset. I want to emphasise the importance that the UK places on UNRWA, on its continued function and its unique role in the area, as well as our full support for the UN Secretary-General.
John McDonnell
I am sorry to interrupt the Minister’s flow, but before he sits down, can he give me some assurance that he will take back to his colleagues the issue about the evacuation of children? I raised it again on Monday with the Prime Minister and still got no response.
Hamish Falconer
I was coming to that issue, but I will take it now.
I am very familiar with these issues; in fact, as an official in 2014, I was working with the mass atrocity prevention hub, where I know my colleagues have also served, to try to identify children at that time and in that stage of the war. It is incredibly depressing to be in this Chamber 10 years on talking about injured children in Gaza again. At that time, I was tasked with trying to find children who could benefit from UK medical assistance, and I was honestly not able to find children who would not be better served in the region. Having discussed the matter with officials—I understand the Minister for Development has looked at this as well—we primarily share the view expressed in WHO guidance that children should be treated in the region as much as possible. That will mean in most cases that being treated in Egypt or somewhere nearby is going to be more appropriate than being treated in the UK. However, I will go back to the Department and secure a fuller answer.
I want to return briefly to the mandate of the UN. We are clear that Israel must respect the mandate of the UN and must enable humanitarian workers to travel easily into and throughout Gaza.
Apsana Begum
It is absolutely clear that aid and aid workers are being hindered and blocked by Israel. At the same time, the UK considers Israel to be one of its closest allies. How does that make sense in terms of how the UK represents itself at the UN and on the world platform? The Minister seems to be suggesting that efforts are being made to secure a ceasefire to provide aid, when it is obvious that there is a block and that the UK is facilitating that, as opposed to opposing it.
Hamish Falconer
I do not accept that we are facilitating rather than opposing. I could not be clearer in everything I have said this afternoon about the position of the British Government. I have been clear with my colleagues about our frustration that we have not been able to make more progress on the things that we have been calling for. I want to reassure colleagues across the House that the whole ministerial team is working hard day and night on these issues. We recognise the acute nature of the situation before us, and we treat it with the full gravity that it deserves.
Hamish Falconer
I will try to make a tiny bit more progress, and then I will hand back.
Hamish Falconer
Then I will probably get to the end, in order to allow people to respond.
From the Prime Minister down, we will continue to call on all parties to act in accordance with international humanitarian law. Earlier in July, when he was visiting the region, the Foreign Secretary announced £5.5 million in new medical aid to field hospitals in Gaza; I think that was the subject of a question that was asked today. We are working to try to bolster medical capacity for patients. We think that is best done in the region, and we are frustrated by the impediments that still exist, particularly around children being able to access medical care and other aid.
Valerie Vaz (in the Chair)
Order. I want to put the Question.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House has considered humanitarian aid and Gaza.