Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Lord Callanan Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords, since the heinous terrorist attacks of 7 October, we have stood united across the House in calling for the unconditional release of all hostages by Hamas as the only way to reach a sustainable end to this abhorrent conflict. We now feel both the anxiety and the hope of the families who have waited, anticipating the release of the remarkably brave women hostages who have been returned thus far under the ceasefire agreement. We saw this morning the release of the hostage Agam Berger, with, we hope, seven more set to be freed today. We pay tribute to all their families through their suffering.

It is important to remember the hostages who we learned on Monday will not return home alive, having been murdered at the hands of Hamas. This is the most devastating news for their families, and we must have them in our thoughts during the uncertainty in the days and weeks ahead. As the Minister said in the other place, we want the ceasefire agreement to hold, but we stress that every single hostage must be released.

The Minister rightly referred to UNRWA. Although no one can doubt the size of the distribution network, we cannot ignore the problems within that organisation. It is in no one’s interest to pretend that they have not happened. We know the facts: UNRWA staff and institutions have been infiltrated by Hamas, and there have been shocking allegations of UNRWA staff involvement in the 7 October attacks. Following the UN internal investigations and the subsequent sackings, the Colonna report and the reforms need to be implemented in full. The Minister in the other place said:

“I have discussed this directly with the head of UNRWA, and I know that my colleagues have done so repeatedly”.—[Official Report, Commons, 28/1/25; col. 188.]


Does the Minister have any update for the House on how these discussions are going, and can she tell us what progress has been made on the implementation of the Colonna report?

The reconstruction of Gaza is obviously a huge task. What discussions have the Government had with regional neighbours? What role does the Minister envisage for the UK in this reconstruction? Will we be contributing financially, and is she pushing for multilateral institutions to be involved?

On the future governance of Gaza, I have said that I would like to hear more about the Government’s day 1 plan. The Foreign Secretary previously told the House—and I think we would all agree—that

“there cannot be a role for Hamas”.—[Official Report, Commons, 16/1/25; col. 516.]

As my right honourable friend the shadow Foreign Secretary said in the other place, we echo those words, but the sickening sight of Hamas gunmen parading around hostages just last weekend—we saw it again this morning—caused great alarm. What steps are being taken to end the reign of terror that Hamas has unleashed upon the Gaza Strip?

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

My Lords, in a week where we have all acknowledged as a country, including our Head of State, the horrors of 80 years ago, we should be sensitive to the ongoing humanitarian crisis and conflict in the Middle East. There is no place for anti-Semitism in the UK or anywhere, and we should learn the lessons of dehumanisation. That is why we should condemn President Trump when he describes the cleaning out of Gaza, and condemn extremists who called Palestinians human animals. Language is important, and therefore sensitivity should be part of our policy-making.

It is worth recognising, as the noble Lord did, that Hamas continues to dehumanise hostages. For the families of hostages who will have their loved ones returned alive, we give thanks for the ceasefire, and we commiserate with those who will receive their loved ones’ bodies. We should hope that the ceasefire holds, because it should provide—even though it is very hard to see—a basis for future and further political dialogue. But two things are actively working against that.

The first is the implementation, today, of the ban on UNRWA in Israeli sovereign territory. I welcome that this has been condemned by the Government. What actions will the UK take? UNRWA operates under a mandate. The Israeli Government have obligations under that UN mandate, and UNRWA should be free to provide humanitarian assistance within the Occupied Territories, unfettered at the border areas within Israeli territory. I would be grateful to hear what actions the Government will now take. While we welcome the fact that Ministers can condemn and raise concerns, there should not be impunity for breaching the UN mandate.

In the West Bank, we continue to see unacceptable violence, not only with regard to the settlers but in the impunity of those within the outposts, and the violence there, which is illegal under Israeli law. There can be no two-state solution if one of the authorities is systematically losing territory day by day. What actions will the Government take on expanding the sanctions on those who are perpetrating the violence, as well as ensuring that there is no impunity for those who are carrying out actions against Palestinian settlements?

On recovery and construction, I welcome that there is now a dedicated official within the FCDO to lead the UK official response to the consideration of reconstruction. I hope that the Minister might be prepared to offer a briefing on the actions in detail and what officials are doing. I welcome that we are co-ordinating that work. Previously in the Chamber, we have discussed the scale of rubble clearance, body recovery and the humanitarian catastrophe, from which the recovery will be enormous.

The Minister will not be surprised that I again raise the fact that there needs to be intensive work on child trauma, and especially on the restoration of education facilities. I have welcomed the UK support through multilateral funding. I appeal to the Government that one area where the UK can play a considerable and direct role, bilaterally, is the establishment of education support and child trauma and psychosocial support within these areas. I have raised before in the Chamber the 17,000 children—the equivalent of the entire under-10 population of London—who are homeless, without shelter or education.

I welcome the increased funding for the Palestinian Authority, but it is still lower than before the 0.7% ODA cuts. I hope the Government will now reconsider the overall envelope of UK assistance to ensure that we can play an increasing role in the recovery.

Finally, I hope that the House will allow me to raise two other brief aspects—one is Lebanon, and the other is the concerning news about conflict prevention. If we have learned anything during the last two years, with the conflicts in the Middle East in particular, it is that conflict prevention is one of the most efficient investments we can make. Where it fails, the cost is extreme. There are very worrying reports of a proposed one-third cut in conflict prevention funding. I hope that the Government will reconsider this.

Other reconstruction is needed in Lebanon. Yesterday, I and some colleagues met with Halima Kaakour, a Lebanese MP. I hope that Ministers will meet female Lebanese MPs who now want to work in a cross-party, cross-confessional and cross-community way in the Lebanese Parliament to ensure that reconstruction is part of the hoped-for peace and recovery, rather than entrenched division. If that is done badly and corruptly, unfortunately it will not bring about sustainable recovery.