Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Nusrat Ghani Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

With permission, I would like to make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the wider region. 

With Gaza entering its fourth winter of conflict, last weekend’s heavy rain and strong winds have made the intolerable humanitarian situation even worse for Palestinian civilians. Like so many others, I was horrified by the scenes. Flooding has damaged displacement sites, tents and buildings, including hospitals and schools. According to our humanitarian partners on the ground, more than 152,000 people have been affected, with over 6,000 shelters destroyed, 17,400 damaged and nearly 4,000 households left without shelter.

Three children and their mother were killed when a sand embankment collapsed on their tents. The cumulative impact, as well as the immediate impact, is appalling. For more than three years, families have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods, and many have had to move again and again in search of safety. Meanwhile, civilian deaths continue, with more than 1,600 killed since the so-called ceasefire alone, and Gazans have been kettled into around 30% of their territory.  

The reality on the ground is heartbreaking, yet we knew this was coming. The UN and non-governmental organisations have raised the alarm for months. Donors, including ourselves, geared up for it and put in support for aid agencies ahead of time, but restrictions on access to vital supplies and machinery have hampered preparations for winter. According to the UN, over 150,000 tents and 300,000 tarpaulins that humanitarian partners and donors purchased are outside Gaza, ready to go in, yet the Israeli authorities have prevented these items from entering. They also continue to block timber from entering, leaving no emergency shelter kits available in Gaza. This is shameful. The problem is not simply whether the international community can provide help; it is whether that help can reach the people who need it. I have a very simple and direct message to the Israeli authorities: let the aid in.

This is only the first storm of winter, and there will be more. The UN has said that new tents alone will not protect people from flooding. Gaza urgently needs machinery and tools for drainage and rubble removal, and this is unilaterally in the Government of Israel’s control. As the occupying power, there are strict legal obligations that Israel must obey. We have repeatedly pressed it to prepare for winter and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, in line with international law. At the UN General Assembly, the UK brought international partners together behind a call to action on humanitarian access and healthcare. Today, again in New York, we will bring together multiple international partners once again to reinforce that pressure. 

Our immediate asks of the Government of Israel are clear: open crossing points, starting with Erez in northern Gaza; allow additional days for dual-use items to enter; and reduce the list of those items, so that vital medicines, medical equipment, and materials for tents and shelter can reach the people who need them. I saw with my own eyes items for which I could see no reasonable ground for refusing entry. The Israeli Government must also allow access for journalists, diplomats and Foreign Ministers, so that the world can see the scale of what is happening. 

I am shocked by reports overnight that an Israeli airstrike on the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza has killed at least six people. So many healthcare workers and humanitarians have lost their lives and faced peril trying to alleviate suffering in Gaza. I am thinking in particular of those, including the brave British nationals, who lost their lives in the World Central Kitchen attack.

In recent months, officials at the British embassy in Tel Aviv have pressed the Israeli authorities to take the action needed to prepare Gaza for winter. On Monday, officials again met those at the Israeli embassy in London to reinforce the urgent need for action. We call on all parties to the conflict to allow aid to enter Gaza and get to the people who need it.

I am sorry to say that in recent weeks, the flow of aid and essential goods into Gaza has been repeatedly disrupted. Commercial deliveries were temporarily suspended in September following reports of Hamas taxation. On 3 November, the Israeli authorities closed the Egypt corridor for six days over allegations of smuggling, cutting off an essential lifeline to Gazans. I have been to the Egypt warehouses myself and seen the stockpiles of essential aid waiting to get in. The UN chief for humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher, and other international counterparts have said that there is no excuse for this. The law is clear that civilians should get the aid they need and should not be punished, and that that should not be subject to political negotiations. The UK Government will not stand by, but will keep working with our partners to press for the restrictions to be lifted.

I am proud that our Government and our support have already made a difference. We provided UNICEF with £14 million this year to support nutrition, child protection, health, water and sanitation, and preparation for winter, but we must do more. Today, I can announce that we are releasing a further £5 million from our bilateral budget to UNICEF, which will be focused on the winter response, including the impact of flooding over the weekend. Overall, UK support will make a tangible difference to the people of Gaza, aiming to provide winter clothing for 100,000 children, tarpaulins for 62,500 people, family tents for 1,250 households and blankets for 150,000 people.

Last month, the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ pooled fund, to which the UK is a significant contributor, provided $45 million for winter supplies, and when the flooding hit, OCHA was able to respond quickly and help families in displacement sites. Through our £88 million of humanitarian funding this financial year, we expect to provide healthcare for up to 900,000 people, safe water for 150,000 people, and rehabilitation and prosthetic care for 1,000 children with blast injuries. At the G7 this week, the Foreign Secretary was clear that Israel must ensure humanitarian access, humane treatment and basic welfare for civilians in Gaza. So we are acting, and we will continue to act, to alleviate the suffering.

Let me repeat that we recognise Israel’s legitimate security concerns and of course condemn Hamas’s 7 October terrorist attack, the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust. I stood in resolute solidarity with Israelis and Jews at the memorial event and exhibition organised with the Israeli embassy just a few weeks ago. Let me also be clear that the United Kingdom remains committed—fully committed—to resolution 2803 and the 20-point peace plan. We are resolute and clear that Hamas must decommission their weapons, dismantle their terrorist infrastructure and relinquish control of Gaza. Ultimately, we need a lasting answer to this conflict. Our north star remains the two-state solution as the only route to lasting peace, security and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians.

With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, let me add that while Gaza is rightly the immediate focus of my statement, it is not the only humanitarian crisis in the region that demands our attention. I want to say something about the appalling situation in Yemen, which is compounding the years of suffering, death and destruction faced by Yemenis. The Houthis’ decision to resume conflict has worsened an already desperate humanitarian situation. Since August, more than 330,000 people have fled their homes, there have been more than 1,000 civilian casualties and hundreds have been killed.

The situation is particularly acute in Taiz, where the continued Houthi siege restricts the movement of people, aid and essential goods. Women and children are particularly vulnerable as supplies run low, and healthcare services have been drastically reduced. The recruitment and use of children in the conflict, widespread displacement and food insecurity are causing further suffering. In recent weeks, I have met senior representatives of the Government of Yemen, and listened directly to humanitarians working on the frontline. We cannot turn away, and donors and the world cannot turn away, in the face of such appalling suffering. We need to do more.

I am also appalled by the continued detention of UN workers, and the deaths we have seen. I reiterate that international humanitarian law must be upheld by all. We are providing £104 million in humanitarian support to Yemen, including the recently announced £10 million to the UN’s emergency fund. We will continue to work with the Government of Yemen and other partners to protect and support civilians and return to a political process.

Finally, I want to update the House on sanctions, which I know are a matter of keen interest. In September, the Foreign Secretary announced further action in relation to Gaza and the west bank, including a new sanctions regime targeting illegal settlement activity. I can confirm that work is under way to prepare that regime, but in recent weeks we have also moved at pace to expand the global human rights sanctions regime to cover serious violations of international humanitarian law, including obstructing the delivery of or access to humanitarian aid. In recent weeks, we have also acted in other contexts. For example, in relation to the appalling situation in Sudan, we have sanctioned 15 senior commanders from the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese armed forces for suspected atrocities, including conflict-related sexual violence.

We do not comment on future designations under our sanctions regimes—the House knows why—but I want to be clear today that we are prepared to use these expanded powers against those who continue to block the entry of aid into Gaza and other conflict zones anywhere in the world. I commend this statement to the House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge) (Con)]

First, I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement, and I welcome the statement he has made. Let me start by sharing with him the simple horror that, I think, the whole House shares at the suffering and cruelty inflicted on so many by so few. Time and again, we have seen how this happens: a small group of extremists dominates a society, murders the lawful authority and takes power for itself, leading to suffering falling on the heads of thousands. Tragically, that is exactly what we have seen in Gaza.

When the Palestinian Authority took control of the territory in 2005, Mahmoud Abbas began enforcing a prohibition against militants carrying weapons in public. As we know, that led to street battles, the murder of Palestinian police officers and the takeover by Hamas. Since then, we have seen the terrible price of that takeover. We have seen the murder of hundreds and the exile of more—perhaps even thousands—who simply wanted to live in peace. The cruelty of life under the Iranian-funded and armed terror group is simply horrific.

Just look at the record on aid. In the decade ending in 2023, which is the last I can get reliable figures for, the United Kingdom gave almost £1 billion—£800 million and more—in aid to the Palestinian Authority. It was more if we count what went through the UN agencies, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and even more if we count the aid given through the generosity of the British people by charities. What have we seen for it? We have seen the vile indoctrination of hatred, and the control of food and services to achieve dictatorial compliance. We have seen the biggest network of tunnels built to prepare for war. It is striking, is it not, that these air raid shelters were not built to protect the civilians, who were never allowed in. Palestinian women and children were never allowed in the tunnels. [Interruption.] I can see the hon. Lady shaking her head. If she wants to side with Hamas, she is welcome to—[Hon. Members: “Shame!”] But if she wishes to stand with the Palestinian people, she should recognise what Hamas have done. [Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. We need to keep tempers down on both sides of the House, or time on the statement will run out.

[Tom Tugendhat]

Those who stand with the Palestinian people stand against Hamas.

Again and again, sadly, we have seen Hamas torturing and murdering so many. Does that leave others innocent? Of course it does not. Does it leave Israel innocent? No. The deaths of John Chapman, James Kirby, Jim Henderson and four others who were not British while working for the World Central Kitchen shows that civilian casualties have been too common, and the Australian inquiry into the events points to extremely clear problems that the Israel Defence Forces must resolve.

The Opposition also condemn the blockages of aid getting into the territory and Egypt’s closure of the southern border, just as we condemn the unnecessary Israeli restrictions. However, we recognise that aid has been weaponised by the Hamas leadership that has been in control for more than 20 years. Again and again, Hamas have chosen to hurt, murder and destroy their own people for the political benefit of their masters in Tehran and their vile ideology.

Britain now has a choice. Do we stand with those who see a different future? Do we want to support Palestinian voices who are rightly crying out for justice, and Israeli voices who have clearly said, “Enough”? Do we want to recognise that the abuses we have seen, which states such as Jordan and Egypt condemn, have continued for too long? That is the position we should be holding, working with Egypt which controls the southern border and with Jordan which rightly observes the abuses we have seen far too often by settlers in the west bank. Will the Minister please commit to engaging more closely with those countries supporting Palestinian and Israeli voices seeking peace?

Perhaps more importantly, given the extension the Minister made into areas such as Yemen, will he look at the root of so much of the violence and cruelty he listed today, which is of course in Iran? The regime in Tehran has brought murder, hatred, death and destruction to hundreds of thousands, including some people here in the United Kingdom. In Yemen, Gaza and sadly across the middle east, we have seen the price of the vile ayatollah’s regime. It is time for that to end and to relieve the suffering of so many in the Arab world and across the whole of the continent.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his statement and for all the work he is doing. I also support him in his condemnation of the shadow Foreign Secretary for his lack of condemnation of the barbaric Israeli Government who are blocking humanitarian aid. [Interruption.] It is a flagrant violation of humanitarian law. [Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. Mr Tugendhat, when one person is speaking we do not need a running commentary from people who are seated. Kim Johnson, the floor is yours for your question.

[Kim Johnson]

Okay, I will carry on.

Will the Minister explain how the Government intend to use the extension of powers in the Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026 to take action, and when that will that happen?

[Stephen Doughty]

My hon. Friend rightly points to the new regulations. She will know—she and other colleagues were part of the debates—that they have just been passed and introduced. We moved at pace to do that. The other regime we announced on 8 September will take longer. I will not tell her in the House today exactly who will be designated or exactly when under those regimes, but I can tell her that we do not take powers without intending to use them.

[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?