Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of comments made by US President Trump about Gaza on the current schedule for the release of hostages under the Gaza ceasefire.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The new US administration played an integral role in negotiating the ceasefire agreement, alongside Qatar and Egypt. The Prime Minister reiterated his thanks for these efforts in his call with President Trump on 26 January. The government will continue to work with the US to sustain the fragile ceasefire, ensure that all the hostages are released, increase the supply of aid, and break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a permanent, sustainable peace. As the Foreign Secretary has emphasised, we continue to call for the immediate release of all hostages
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on President Trump's proposals for the US to (a) takeover and (b) own Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary had a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 27 January, prior to President Trump's comments on Gaza. The readout is available on gov.uk. We will continue to engage with the US Administration across the spectrum of foreign policy issues, including the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). Our priority in Gaza remains sustaining the fragile ceasefire, ensuring that all the hostages are released, increasing the supply of aid, and breaking the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a permanent, sustainable peace
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of UK aid trucks reaching Gaza in (a) September and (b) October 2024; what steps he is taking with international counterparts to tackle constraints reportedly imposed by the Israeli Government on the number of aid trucks entering Gaza; and if he will make an estimate of the average daily number of (i) aid trucks and (ii) tonnes of aid that were needed to meet the demand for aid in Gaza in the last month.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 2 September, this Government assesses that Israel must and should do more to ensure that life-saving food and medical supplies reach civilians in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary has raised repeatedly with Israeli leaders the need for a rapid increase of aid into Gaza, including during his joint visit with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné in August. I also raised this concern directly with the Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom during our meeting on 24 July. The UK does not operate independent trucking routes into Gaza, as this is more effectively managed by the UN and our other delivery partners. Truck numbers are a poor metric of humanitarian delivery, but UN figures show a daily average of 97 trucks (both humanitarian and commercial) entered Gaza in September, far below the 500 daily before 7 October 2023.