Gaza: Humanitarian Aid and Children

Jeremy Corbyn Excerpts

Thursday 8th February 2024 Westminster Hall

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)]

Thank you for calling me to speak so quickly, Ms Vaz. I was rushing here—I had trouble with my journey, and I think you got that message. I am obliged to you.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) on securing the debate. It is absolutely timely and absolutely essential that this debate be held, because the war has just become a horror show—a horror show of bodies being taken away, of unknown numbers hidden under rubble in Gaza, and of the terrible devastation caused by all the other disasters that war brings about, such as shortage of water, shortage of food, shortage of medicine and everything else.

Obviously what happened on 7 October was appalling by any stretch of the imagination, and the continued hostage-holding of a number of children obviously has to be brought to an end as quickly as it possibly can. But as the Secretary-General of the United Nations pointed out at the time, this did not all come from nowhere; it comes from the siege of Gaza, which has gone on for a very long time, and also, of course, the occupation of the west bank. I recall many visits I have made to Gaza and the west bank, some in the company of my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter), on a number of occasions. Every time I have been to Gaza, I always felt, “It can’t get any worse.” Then you go back there and it is even worse. Now, the bombing has made it absolutely appalling.

The International Court of Justice hearing was a seminal moment in many ways. I went to the ICJ hearing, at the invitation of the South African delegation, and I was there in the Court for the whole of the hearing. It lasted a very long time, and it was painstakingly presented by South Africa. There was a certain synergy about South Africa, a country that had come out of apartheid, presenting a case, essentially on behalf of the Palestinian people, that the behaviour of the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza was tantamount to acts of genocide against the Palestinian people. The statement made as a result of the ICJ hearing, which should be read very carefully, calls upon Israel to cease activities in the Gaza strip that could be construed as a continuation of genocidal acts against the Palestinian people. It is quite important that the world recognises that, in essence, it was calling for an urgent and immediate ceasefire and an increase in aid going through. That aid has increased very slightly, but it is very difficult to deliver aid when you are under bombardment at the same time.

There are now more than 1 million people around the Rafah crossing. It is a small town. It is grotesquely overcrowded and has a shortage of absolutely everything. One can cite many images, but I saw one the other day of two children—they looked five or six—walking down the road together, hand in hand. They were a boy and a girl. The girl was holding a bottle with a small amount of water in it, and they were aimlessly wandering about. When they saw anyone, they said, “Do you know where we can get food?” The world should not treat children that way, particularly when a few kilometres away there is plenty of food, medicine and clean water deliberately being denied to those people. This country signed the UN convention on the rights of the child in 1989—there is a stone commemorating that in Hyde Park—and we should abide by it.

The UK Government’s decision to withhold further funding to UNRWA until the inquiries have taken place is beyond regrettable. When he announced his decision in Parliament, the Foreign Office Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), pointed out that payments had already been made and that this was withholding future payments that might be due after April. Well, I think we need a bit more certainty than that that we will continue supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency. Around one third of its income is now at risk or already gone.

The case against the people who are alleged to have taken part in the 7 October event has not yet been backed up with evidence, not yet been presented and not yet been concluded. In any event, if there is a case against individuals who were employed by UNRWA, let us bring it forward, bring it into the open and have the hearing. But to deny the whole organisation funding and to deny the staff of UNRWA continued employment all across the piece—in the refugee camps and the west bank as well as in Gaza—seems to me to be totally wrong and unfair. I hope that when the Minister who is here today replies, he will be able to assure us that we will rapidly resume funding for UNRWA.

I have visited many UNRWA depots over the years, with my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith and others, in the west bank, Gaza and indeed the refugee camps. It is an underfunded organisation, anyway. It performs superhuman tasks just to provide food, medicine and education for Palestinian people. It is the oldest UN agency. We have to recognise the absolute importance of that.

The question of food supply to Gaza is obviously critical. The population is very young and possibly half of the 27,000 recorded deaths in Gaza will be of young people or children. The number who are still under the rubble is enormous. There is very limited access for outside help to get in. The numbers of medical staff who have been killed are huge, as are the numbers of journalists who could report on the situation—80 journalists have already lost their lives in Gaza. This is a horror show on live TV all over the world.

The idea that, somehow or other, this country can adopt a policy of not funding the one agency that can deliver help, food, aid and medicine to the children of Gaza I find to be completely unconscionable.

[Mr Dhesi]

Like my right hon. Friend, I have seen the amazing work of UNRWA on the ground in Palestine. We in the UK and across the globe cannot become desensitised to the civilian deaths that we are witnessing, especially those of thousands of innocent children, and there has been no let-up to the suffering in Gaza. Does my right hon. Friend agree that with so many displaced, desperate and hungry people and with potential aid cuts and continuing conflict, there is a real danger of a deadly famine engulfing Gaza as well?

[Jeremy Corbyn]

My hon. Friend is right. Frankly, the famine is already there. The number of people dying from wholly preventable conditions in the southern part of the Gaza strip is already greater than the number who have been killed by the daily bombardment there. And what are they dying from? Diarrhoea, hunger, malnutrition and lack of any kind of medicine.

I talked to a doctor who I met in Leeds two weeks ago when I was at an event in support of the people of Gaza. He told me that he had done something that he had hoped he would never, ever have to do in his life: perform an amputation on somebody without anaesthetic —on a child. Imagine being a professional doctor who has taken the Hippocratic oath and having to put a child through the most unbelievable pain in order to, hopefully, save their life. He told me of cases where he has performed a successful operation, in the sense that the operation was carried out, but the patient has then died of a heart attack because of the pain inflicted on them. None of that is necessary. Medical aid and anaesthetics could get there if only they were allowed in.

Currently, in the southern end of the Gaza strip there are reported to be 135,000 cases of diarrhoea; they have been recorded by those doctors who remain there. That is 13.5% of the people around Rafah and possibly even more than that. Diarrhoea is a killer, particularly of children, because it means that they cannot feed food down or keep their body hydrated; it is an absolute killer.

In addition, no child has been to school anywhere in the Gaza strip since November—so that is three months of education already lost. Even if the bombardment and fighting stopped tomorrow, there is no school to be reopened; there would have to be schools in tents for months, if not years, to come. The children affected will be physically devastated, and mentally scarred and devastated. What is the next generation going to be like when they have been through this horrific experience?

Surely, therefore, it is incumbent on all of us to do everything we can to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and save the lives of children. The messages are there—from the UN, from all the children’s agencies, from the World Food Programme, from Amnesty International, from Human Rights Watch and from a whole range of other people who have either been to Gaza or managed to pick up information about what is going on there regarding the crying need for help, particularly for children. That help can best be achieved by a ceasefire.

The Government announced that they were providing £87 million of aid; I am sure that the Minister will correct me if I have got that figure wrong. However, it was not clear how that aid was going to be delivered, how it was going to be dispersed or who was going to disperse it. I gently say to the Minister that the existing agencies that have done so much work for so long and managed to ensure the continuation of a health service of some sort throughout Palestine but particularly in Gaza, such as Palestinian Red Crescent and others, are the best people to do it. The most important role that any of us anywhere else in the world can play is absolutely to demand peace in the region and a solution to this crisis, starting with an immediate and permanent ceasefire to stop the killing of so many children in Gaza.

As somebody who has been in this House for quite a while and in Israel, Gaza and the west bank, including in the refugee camps, on nine occasions, I feel the sense of hope that children there have. I went to a primary school in Jabalia refugee camp; I have been there twice, on successive visits. It was a beautifully run if underfunded school. From the roof of the school, it was possible to see the fence—the border with Israel. We met the children; this was a primary school, so they were 10 or 11-year-olds. They were excitable, artistic, enjoyable to be with, full of ideas, full of hope and full of aspirations. I always left that school feeling, “Well, these children will be a huge asset to the country of the future, as they are the citizens of the future.” The school has now been destroyed—completely destroyed. Those kids have lost their school. Having lost their homes, the one strong factor in their lives had been their sense of a place to go to school, and that applies to every other school across the Gaza strip, as well as to every hospital across the Gaza strip.

Let us give all the aid we can to UNRWA now and give all the support we can now to the people of Gaza—particularly the children, so that they may grow up to at least live without the threat of being bombed day in and day out. But above all, get off the fence and get on the side of supporting a ceasefire now to save life in Gaza and bring about a long-term peace for all the people of the region, before this thing degenerates into a ghastly war that engulfs the whole region.

As you can gather, Ms Vaz, I feel extremely strongly about this issue, but it is not just me. I am stopped by people in the street who have never shown the slightest interest in international affairs or politics of any sort, but they now say, “Please, please, you’re our MP—do what you can to save life in Gaza!”

--- Later in debate ---

[John Mc Nally (Falkirk) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship as always, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) on securing this absolutely crucial and emotional debate. As others have said before me, the situation in Gaza is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe. Children, of course, are bearing the brunt of the crisis, facing unimaginable horrors every single day. That those children—and adults—are having to go through this is not the mark of a civilised world. We, the adults, in this place and elsewhere, cannot ignore their plight any longer.

As the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse said, a new term has been coined for children in Gaza—WCNSF: wounded child, no surviving family. What a horrible thought and image to have in our heads. It embodies the tragic reality of many innocent children in Gaza, where death, destruction and injuries have become just daily occurrences. The right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) described the image of two children walking along the road asking somebody for food. As always, the numbers paint a grim picture of the harsh, stark, horrible reality of war. Some 40% of the casualties are believed to be the innocents—the children.

“Suffer little children to come unto me”

springs to mind all the time when one hears these stories. But the horror does not end there. Even those who survive face an uncertain future, with disease, starvation and exposure threatening their lives. God only knows what the long-term impact will be on those children.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

Surely the issue now is that as the weather gets warmer, without any sewage facilities or clean water, the next thing will be cholera.

[John Mc Nally]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. Disease is only going to worsen over the next period. Unless there is intervention immediately, it is just going to get worse and worse. After the war is finished, we will still have to deal with the situation that is left, so the quicker we intervene, the better.

There are reports of deliberate strikes on civilian safe zones and hospitals—deeply disturbing accounts have been heard. Let us be clear: aid efforts, while crucial, are no substitute for a ceasefire. There is absolutely no doubt about that whatsoever. The lack of safe zones and the destruction of medical facilities mean that innocent lives continue to be lost unnecessarily. As the right hon. Member for Islington North said, unless we intervene, it is just going to get worse. The ongoing suffering of children in Gaza is heartbreaking. It is unthinkable in this day and age that it is going on. More than 1,000 children have had their limbs amputated—hundreds without anaesthetics, proper medical care, running water, electricity, food or shelter. It is unimaginable. The blockade imposed by Israel only exacerbates the situation, leaving more children vulnerable to infections and untreated injuries.

Furthermore, education has come to a total standstill in Gaza, with thousands of children deprived of their right to learn. The UNRWA schools—a lifeline for many —have closed their doors, robbing children of their future and denying their basic rights to education. Keep in mind that that all impacts on the mental health of children, and the mental health toll on children is absolutely staggering. Anxiety, loss of appetite—if they can get food —and emotional distress are commonplace. Can we even begin to understand, to take any of that into our heads? Entire families have been wiped out, leaving children orphaned and traumatised through no fault of theirs. In my constituency of Falkirk, I have personally heard first hand from a woman and her mother whose whole family are in Gaza, and they related the whole thing to me in a very calm, organised manner over a two-hour period. It is hard to take in what these people are going through.

It is unconscionable that the UK Government should continue to support Israel’s actions under the guise of self-defence. The consequences are simply dire, with totally innocent children paying the ultimate price. It is downright wrong. Humanitarian aid is essential, but it must be accompanied by a ceasefire. The decision to freeze funding for UNRWA will only worsen the crisis, putting millions of lives at risk. I ask the Minister to seriously rethink and reverse that decision.

We cannot stand by idly while innocent children suffer. The international community cannot afford to remain silent in the face of such atrocities. The UK Government, among others, must heed the calls for a ceasefire, and prioritise humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s most vulnerable inhabitants. Resuming funding for UNRWA is not just a matter of humanitarian obligation, but a moral imperative. We must also recognise the psychological toll of war on children. The trauma they endure leaves scars that may never heal. Gender and age-appropriate mental health support must be provided urgently to mitigate the long-term effects of conflict on Gaza’s future generation.

In conclusion, the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza demands our immediate attention and action. We cannot stand idly by as innocent children bear the brunt of this senseless violence. Let us join hands in solidarity with the people of Gaza advocating for peace, justice and the protection of children’s rights. Our humanity compels us to, for the sake of those children who have suffered enough.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Leo Docherty)]

I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) for leading this important debate. I am also grateful for the sincere and passionate contributions of other right hon. and hon. Members. I am here on behalf of the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell). I will try to cover the points that have been raised.

Four months have now passed since Israel suffered the worst terror attack in its history at the hands of Hamas, who still hold more than 130 hostages. Meanwhile, as has movingly been laid out this afternoon, Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis inside Gaza. Children in particular are bearing the worst consequences of the conflict, as we have heard. We want to see an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible. An immediate pause is now necessary to get aid in and hostages out, and the UK is engaged in sustained efforts to achieve that and to build towards a lasting solution.

I will start by reflecting briefly on how the current situation in Gaza is affecting children, as has been laid out by many colleagues this afternoon. The number of people killed in Gaza has reportedly surpassed 27,000, and more than 67,000 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. As we have heard, the vast majority are women and children. Many people, including children, are still missing, presumed dead and buried under the rubble.

Of the 1.7 million people who have been displaced, more than half are children. Tens of thousands of those children have been orphaned or separated from their family. Hunger and disease are spreading rapidly, which has been made worse by overcrowded shelters. There are reportedly more than 223,000 cases of acute respiratory infection, to which children are particularly vulnerable, and over 158,000 cases of diarrhoea, more than 50% of which are in children under the age of five, as colleagues have referred to. Many of these children are likely to be malnourished, making the effects of disease more severe. UNICEF reports that all children under five in Gaza—about 335,000 children—are at high risk of severe malnutrition. For children, especially those under two years old, a lack of food and vital nutrients during the developmental stage of life can lead to grave lifelong setbacks.

The healthcare system in Gaza has virtually collapsed. Only 13 of 36 hospitals are even partially functional, and even those are without enough specialised medical staff to manage the scale of the crisis. The right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) referred to the grave constraints that doctors face. Hospitals simply do not have sufficient medicines or medical supplies.

I turn to the UK’s response. We are focused on practical solutions to get more aid into Gaza. I am happy to confirm to the right hon. Member that we have trebled our aid this year for the Occupied Palestinian Territories to £87 million, of which £60 million is for Gaza specifically. We continue to call for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

I understand the figure that the Minister has just given, and I understand that a third is allocated for Gaza, but I would be grateful if he let us know exactly how that aid will be administered. Who will actually deliver it? How will it get there, given the current problems of getting anyone—even medical workers—into Gaza through the Rafah crossing?

[Leo Docherty]

I am grateful for that question and will address it in my remarks.

We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year to the OPTs. There is, as I said, a £60 million uplift for the humanitarian response. We are doing everything we can to get more aid in and to open more crossings.

The hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse quite rightly asked for an update regarding UNRWA. Colleagues will know that we are a long-standing donor. The £35 million that we have given this year is for this financial year and will last until March. But, of course, we are appalled by the allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack. That is why we are pausing, and that is why a pause has been announced of any future funding, while we review these very concerning allegations. Of course, we remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to people who desperately need it.

In addition to the UK, 16 countries have paused funding temporarily. The pause will be in place until we are satisfied that we have been able properly to review the allegations. A future funding decision will be taken after that point, and the Minister for the middle east will keep colleagues updated as to that decision point.