Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

Lord Browne of Ladyton Excerpts

Tuesday 13th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

My Lords, the blocking of aid into Gaza by Israel has caused enormous suffering. We are aware of the allegations she refers to that Hamas uses humanitarian aid for its own gain, and we have encouraged Israel to share the evidence with the UN and with NGOs. We have not seen any evidence that there is systematic diversion to Hamas and, given the ongoing hostilities, we are unable to verify allegations through direct monitoring. We ensure that all mechanisms are in place for UK-provided aid. The situation is dire; one in five people faces starvation. Aid is available to get into Gaza now if we can unblock those routes. The surest way through is to have a ceasefire, release the hostages and get aid in now. That is essential if we are to protect and save lives.

[Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)]

My Lords, is my noble friend the Leader of the House in a position to remove the veil from the recently formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation? It is less than two and a half months since this company was put together. Can she tell us which private contractors are being set up to take the place of the United Nations and its partners? Are they capable of providing not just the scale but the diversity of aid that the UN and its partners would be able to provide to the Gazans if the Israelis lifted their blockade?

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

I am not able to satisfy my noble friend on those points; I do not have that information. We have urged the Israeli Government to share that information, because it would be very difficult to make an assessment. We stand ready to work alongside Israel, the UN and our partners to ensure that aid is delivered, but we have to ensure both that they have the expertise to get the aid in and the safety of the aid workers. Over 400 aid workers have died providing humanitarian aid. It is the most dangerous part of the world to supply aid to and in which to be a humanitarian worker. We should express our gratitude and the debt we all owe to those who put their lives at risk to help others.