Gaza: Healthcare System Support

Baroness Chapman of Darlington Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for securing this debate and to noble Lords who have contributed. I know this House will join me in welcoming the news overnight of major progress on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. This provides hope and the prospect of an improvement in the dire situation in Gaza. I pay tribute to those who have worked so hard to bring this about, including the negotiating teams from the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

At the same time, we recognise that for the hostages and their families, the suffering continues. We especially think of British citizen Emily Damari, and of Eli and Yossi Sharabi, Oded Lifshitz, and Avinatan Or, who have strong links to the UK, and their loved ones, who have shown so much courage and commitment to bringing them home. We stand with Gazan civilians as they await more information about what this deal will mean. They need to be able to start rebuilding their lives and livelihoods as soon as possible. Winter has come to Gaza, and after 15 months of conflict Gazans are in a desperate situation. The legacy of conflict will take time to address fully. Nearly 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes, and the whole population of Gaza, not least the children and the most vulnerable in society, bear the scars of the conflict, both physically and psychologically.

Since the appalling Hamas attacks of 7 October, hospitals and other healthcare facilities make up much of the vital infrastructure that has been destroyed in Gaza. What is needed immediately is a rapid surge in aid reaching Gaza and an effective security context for this to be delivered. We need to see commercial deliveries fully reinstated and medical supplies allowed. We must also see more medical evacuation routes opened and the urgent facilitation of new and sustainable healthcare provision. Reports that more than 1,000 medical staff in Gaza have been killed, injured or detained during the conflict only underline the scale of the problem. The impact on Gaza’s people has been devastating. They have been unable to safely access the healthcare they desperately need; child malnutrition has rocketed and the whole population has faced the risk of famine for some time now. Infectious diseases have spread, and babies have died for lack of warmth.

Throughout the conflict we have pressed all sides to meet their obligations with regard to healthcare in Gaza. The noble Baroness, Lady Helic, asked about UNRWA. In our view, UNRWA is the best way forward to get aid, and it should be allowed to continue. Last month, the Prime Minister committed an additional £30 million to UNRWA, which will support vital services including medical care. We have now committed £41 million of UK funding to UNRWA this financial year to support its work in Gaza and the wider region. As the ceasefire begins to be implemented, it is essential that UNRWA is enabled to carry out its vital mission in Gaza and beyond.

Through our wider funding to the Occupied Territories, we have supported UK-Med’s operation of field hospitals and other healthcare services. UK-Med has provided vital care to over 300,000 Gazans since the start of the conflict. We have also provided £1 million of funding to the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, delivered through the WHO in Egypt, to support Palestinians who have been medically evacuated from Gaza.

Given the distressing plight of the sick and injured, we continue to look for opportunities to alleviate the suffering, particularly of those in need of specialised treatment and urgent care. Officials across government are examining all options to ensure we are doing everything in our power to help and to explore all avenues in order to support the critically ill in Gaza. It remains essential that all parties work urgently to establish safe passage for patients who need treatment that is not available in Gaza. We have to take the opportunity of the ceasefire to further enable this. It is true that Israel has provided field hospitals; I am happy to confirm that. But we must acknowledge that the humanitarian situation we see today tells us that this has not been enough. Journalists should be able to operate freely and safely in Gaza, and we hope that that can be brought about soon.

In closing, I reiterate that what we urgently need now is for the implementation of the ceasefire announced last night, long overdue though it is, to bring swift and significant relief to the people of Gaza. We need to see a rapid increase in the amount of aid reaching Gaza and immediate action to restore civilian infrastructure, including access to healthcare. Reconstruction should be Palestinian led, but Hamas should play no part in this. We stand ready to play our part in reconstruction and psychosocial support. I suspect that this House, like the wider world, will never agree on the balance of responsibility and blame for the deaths of tens of thousands of children, women and men. But what we can support, and we surely all have a duty to support, is that negotiation, dialogue, humanitarian aid, a ceasefire and the release of all hostages, today, is the only way forward.