Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Monica Harding Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

I thank the Minister for his statement, and I welcome his words and attention on Yemen. I regret the shadow Foreign Secretary’s appalling comments from his seat, and his inability to meet the moment and do what the public are asking us to do about Gaza.

I have continually noted in this Chamber that Israel’s current interpretation of dual-use restrictions means that Palestinians are routinely and systematically denied essential items. The floods could not have been prevented, but timely access to humanitarian aid could have reduced the ensuing devastation. As the Minister notes, 150,000 tents are waiting at Gaza’s borders but are not being allowed in. The crisis does not end with the floods. UNICEF reports that no waste water treatment plant is currently working in Gaza, while in Gaza City rainwater mixed with sewage is threatening to overflow from the Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin, where only two of six pumps still work. UNICEF has been waiting for approval from the Israeli authorities for more than a year to bring in the equipment needed to repair the facility. As temperatures drop, more than half a million children in Gaza are now facing their fourth winter in torn tents or makeshift shelters, and more than a million people are in need of winter clothing.

I share the Minister’s horror at the reports of the horrific attack on Nasser hospital, which has reportedly killed a surgeon, a child and patients. Enough was long ago enough. I welcome the Government’s condemnation of the illegal occupation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but action must follow. Palestine must be able to function as a state without Hama and not permanently relying on an occupying force to decide whether it can access the basic necessities of life.

Will the Government apply the new international humanitarian law sanctions regulations to specifically sanction those responsible for blocking aid? Will he use every diplomatic lever possible to push the Israeli Government to permit immediate entry of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, including those materials needed to make urgent repairs to water and sanitation infrastructure? What steps are the Government taking with international partners to stop aid being diverted or stolen by Hamas?

[Stephen Doughty]

I thank the hon. Lady for her comments and for her support for what I said about Yemen. She was absolutely right to focus on dual-use items. I was staggered that even wheelchairs, medical scanners that should be in hospitals treating people who desperately need help, and even footballs for children, so that they should be able to enjoy some basic activity and sports, were being denied. It is just unfathomable why those things are being denied entry, let alone what I have said today about tents, timber and other crucial equipment to respond to what we saw at the weekend.

That has to change and it has to change urgently. I can assure her that we are using every lever at our disposal and every contact. Officials have been engaging this week—we have asked to meet the Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Territories—and we will continue to raise this at every single level.

The hon. Lady will have heard what I said about the new global human rights and international humanitarian law regime. It has just come into place. I will not comment on future designations, but obviously we take powers because we intend to use them.