Armed Conflict: Children

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered children and armed conflict.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer, and it is a privilege to bring this topic, which I know is an important one for many of my constituents, to Westminster Hall today.

I open the debate with an uncomfortable statistic: today one in five children across the world are growing up in conflict zones. I am sure we can all agree that that is not a statistic we should accept or ever ignore. From Gaza to Ukraine to Yemen, children are paying the highest price for conflicts they did nothing to create. Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 50,000 have become casualties of war—the equivalent of 200 full passenger planes. Those figures are just the tip of the iceberg of the true scale of violations, are limited to incidents it was possible to record and verify, something that can be extremely challenging in situations of active conflict and where access restrictions are in place. UNICEF reports that more than 100 children have been killed in Gaza alone since the ceasefire in early October 2025. That is an average of one child killed every day—and that during a ceasefire. Is the Minister considering children’s distinct needs and vulnerabilities, and their additional rights under international law, in the context of assessing Israel’s compliance with international human rights law?

The United Nations children and armed conflict agenda makes abundantly clear what has been documented: the very youngest victims of war are being caught in its merciless machinery. Children face indiscriminate harm, including killings, maiming, recruitment, abductions and attacks on schools and hospitals, at levels not previously seen and Gaza figures among the worst-affected contexts. Currently, the Occupied Palestinian Territory is the most dangerous place on earth to be a child, obtaining that title for the second year running, with grave violations committed at an extraordinary scale and pace by the Israeli forces. Most verified incidents were of the killing and maiming of children caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It must be noted that children are seven times more likely than adults to die from blast injuries. Concurrently, we are witnessing the destruction of spaces dedicated to children’s education, development and play. Armed conflict exacts its heaviest toll on children.

[Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. As she has just mentioned education, does she agree that education for children in very difficult settings can provide them with a lifeline and a place where they can feel safe, make friends and build up their self-confidence and self-esteem, while at the same time, giving them a sense of hope and aspiration for the future? For those reasons, does she agree that it is important that the Government continue to fund education in those settings and to fund education research into what works best in trying to help and educate our children in very difficult conflict zones?

[Sarah Smith]

The hon. Member raises an incredibly important point. Children absolutely deserve the right to continue to have even the tiniest opportunity for some form of normality—something that helps them to imagine a world beyond the conflict that they are currently living in. I look forward to hearing from the Minister how our Government are supporting children in conflict zones, including Gaza.

Children are not simply collateral damage. With schools, hospitals and residential neighbourhoods struck, children are not just incidental casualties; they are front and centre in the decimation of armed conflict. Their places of safety, education and play are being mercilessly destroyed. Those children are forced to grow up faced with the daily nightmares of armed conflict and the impact that it has on their homes.

More than 60% of child casualties in recent conflicts are due to explosive weapons. The Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza, is among the deadliest places for children. We must remember these injuries cast a long shadow: a wounded child today becomes a young adult tomorrow, scarred physically, emotionally and psychologically. Many face a lifetime without adequate rehabilitation, prosthetics or even basic medical care because restricted humanitarian access and damage to hospitals make proper treatment nearly impossible.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech on an important topic. She talks about the trauma of children living in war zones. According to UNICEF, 100% of children in Gaza face mental health challenges, and are in need of mental health and psychosocial support. Does she agree that that is a crucial part of protecting children during conflict and helping them to recover from it?

[Sarah Smith]

Absolutely. I recognise my hon. Friend’s expertise: she worked in this area prior to coming to this place. Unfortunately, that statistic is no surprise, given the situation that children face in Gaza.

This Parliament has repeatedly affirmed that human rights are universal, that the rights of the child are not suspended at borders or battle lines, and that international law must be upheld consistently and without double standards. The convention on the rights of the child obliges us to protect children from all forms of violence, including during armed conflict, yet in Gaza that obligation is being flouted with impunity. The United Nations continues to verify grave violations, and keeps parties that violate children’s rights on its monitoring list—a solemn reminder that we cannot look away. I ask the Minister whether the Government will push Israel to agree to and implement a UN action plan to reduce harm to children, and ensure it remains listed in the report until that has been fully achieved.

I commend the work of the Labour Government. The latest figures show that they have provided £241 million in official development assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including £154 million in humanitarian funding, between 2023 and 2025. That has enabled more than 500,000 medical consultations, food for about 647,000 people and sanitation for another 300,000. I pay genuine tribute to the important work that my hon. Friend the Minister does, and I thank him for his dedication to the region, both before coming to this place and since he has taken on these responsibilities. He has made huge diplomatic efforts since the horrific and unforgivable events of 7 October.

It is important to return to the United Nations children and armed conflict agenda. I know the Government champion it and have committed additional funding to support its mandate. Its yearly report identified the five most dangerous places to be a child in the world—the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Haiti and Nigeria—and is an important tool, acting as a catalyst for behaviour change.

[Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. Does she agree that children are often used as tools, and even child soldiers, in many areas of conflict? In Sudan, for example, the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese armed forces has affected more than 10 million children, 200 of whom have been raped. Wherever possible, we must hold Governments to account, whether in India—where children are being deliberately targeted in Kashmir—Yemen, Sudan or Gaza. We cannot allow these situations, where children are the biggest sufferers, to go on. In my constituency, I see many young men from Afghanistan with mental health issues who are here seeking asylum or as refugees. We must give them the help that they deserve and need.

[Graham Stringer (in the Chair)]

Order. I remind Members that the time for this debate is tight, so interventions should be short and to the point.

[Sarah Smith]

Unfortunately, the official numbers no doubt do not represent the full situation yet it is devastating to hear what my hon. Friend says. His intervention also points to a broader challenge, although it is not part of this debate, about the need for the international or global human rights order at the current time, and the importance of organisations such as the International Criminal Court and the UN in upholding that order and campaigning on these critical issues.

What matters now is whether we act on what the research from the UN’s children and armed conflict agenda makes unmistakably clear. Childhoods are being destroyed and places of learning, safety and sanctuary are being decimated. We need to uphold international law and be a country that is promoting peace.

It is welcome that Gaza’s key Rafah border crossing is gradually being reopened. According to local hospitals and the World Health Organisation, about 20,000 sick and wounded Palestinians are waiting to leave Gaza for treatment. Can the Minister inform parliamentarians what discussions have taken place with the Israeli Government on the process for the evacuation of all severely sick children now that the Rafah crossing is beginning to open? Does that allow for humanitarian and medical specialists, UN agencies and civil society organisations to gain access to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to support the unobstructed monitoring and reporting of grave violations against children?

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Arctic Security

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

The hon. Member is right to say that there are many different perspectives across the US system, both in the Administration and in Congress. As he will know, we have always had very close engagement with all aspects of the US system, including Congress. Indeed, the House Speaker is in Parliament today.

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I want to put on the record my gratitude for the leadership that the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have shown on this issue as it evolves. Does she share my confusion about why Members of this House who claim to be patriots would join a party that blames NATO for starting the Ukraine war, that has a leader who admires Vladimir Putin, and that has a former leader in Wales who is serving 10 years in prison for taking Russian bribes?

[Yvette Cooper]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We need to be very clear about where the threat to UK security comes from, the threat from Russia to our security—be it through the Arctic or through Ukraine—and the impact that has on Europe. Frankly, the fact that Members of this House who call themselves patriots have joined a party that is so soft on Russia is just astonishing.

Gaza and Sudan

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

In terms of the steps we are taking to get Israel to allow the aid agencies in, we have raised that directly with the Israeli Government and through the CMCC as part of the peace process. Bear in mind that the flooding of Gaza with humanitarian aid was a crucial part of the 20-point plan and the ceasefire agreement that the Israeli Government and Hamas signed up to, so we need to ensure the implementation of that as well as having direct pressure. We continue to raise issues around the settlements.

On Sudan, we continue to engage with all the nations that can have any possible influence on the warring parties in order to seek the peace we desperately need.

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I welcome the news of the UN security resolution passed last night, the establishment of the international stabilisation force and the arrangements that will follow for the board of peace and the Palestinian committee. With a record 260 Israeli settler attacks on the west bank taking place in October alone, does the Foreign Secretary agree that failure by Israel to punish such attacks is inconsistent with international law? What further steps will she take to put pressure on Netanyahu and his Government to stop these attacks?

[Yvette Cooper]

I welcome the points that my hon. Friend makes. We obviously have deep concerns about illegal settlements—they are illegal and should not be taking place—and the escalation of settler violence. There is a need for strong Israeli law enforcement action against the settler violence and a withdrawal from this approach to settlements.

Gaza and Hamas

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Member asks an important question. As I said earlier, it is welcome that there has been an increase in Kerem Shalom, but there is congestion too. The UN, the private sector and a number of donors who are not using the UN are all trying to get aid through Kerem Shalom, so the congestion that she describes is perhaps to be expected. It is vital that other routes, including the Allenby bridge with Jordan and the Rafah crossing, which has already been the subject of much discussion, reopen too. We are working with our partners on these questions. We want to see progress soon—I would like to see it in days—but this has proved to be more complex than I had hoped and talks are ongoing.

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I place on record my thanks to the Minister for his tireless work on the issues in the middle east. The devastation continues for Palestinian people living in Gaza, whether from the murderous intent of Hamas or from further strikes from Israel, which reportedly killed 104 people, including 46 children, overnight. Alongside that, Gaza’s healthcare system has been decimated, and it is always women and girls who end up being the worst victims in such circumstances. Does the Minister agree and will he update the House on how further aid can be directed to support women and girls in particular, and to rebuild healthcare systems in Gaza?

[Mr Falconer]

These are vital questions from my hon. Friend, who I know has remained very focused on the issues. The Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West, who has kindly joined me on the Front Bench, and I remain focused on the issues. As access to Gaza becomes easier, as we all hope that it does, among the most urgent actions are ensuring that medical supplies, personnel and infrastructure are in place to meet the very significant needs of Gazan people. We will continue to work closely on that.

Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I am very grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing this much-needed debate.

We have seen 44,000 children being treated for malnutrition, 2,146 people killed while seeking aid, 131 children killed by a man-made famine, and 5,700 acres of land stolen by the Israeli army in the last three months alone in the west bank. The violence in the west bank is repellent, and a flood of aid—no less—is required in Gaza. I think we all now struggle to find the words to articulate just how horrific what is happening in Gaza and across the west bank truly is.

I will use my time to ask some questions of the Minister. President Trump is due in the UK next week, and he has said that he is not happy with the “real starvation” he is seeing. How can we further work with the US Administration to encourage Israel to open up the Occupied Palestinian Territories to aid at scale and at an unhindered pace?

Ministers have stated that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is

“incompatible with the principles that underpin our bilateral relationship”—[Official Report, 20 May 2025; Vol. 767, c. 924.]

and they are prepared to take “further action”. As the road map on UK-Israel relations is being reviewed, what further action can be taken now to help alleviate the immediate humanitarian catastrophe?

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that our National Security Adviser and I are in direct touch with the Ukrainians on these issues, and the Chief of the Defence Staff was in Washington last week following up on these matters. I think we are all grateful to Tony Radakin, who leaves today after 35 years of service to our country, for the work he is doing. Of course, the Defence Secretary is also co-ordinating via the coalition of the willing.

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

T7. I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement yesterday and the Government’s commitment to recognising the state of Palestine later this month, but with the attacks on the Nasser hospital last week and over 119 children now having died due to starvation, what further steps are we taking to evacuate the most vulnerable? Furthermore, while stacks of aid are unable to get through to Gaza, is the Foreign Secretary keeping under review the use of further sanctions to put greater pressure on Israel to end the blockade of this life-sustaining provision?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend has long advocated these questions. I pay tribute to the work of Save the Children and other UK non-governmental organisations that have continued to do dangerous and lifesaving work in Gaza. I met many of them over the recess. There are a number of restrictions in place in relation not simply to the passage of aid into Gaza, which we have discussed in this House a number of times, but to the function of the NGOs themselves. We keep a very close interest in this and have raised it with the Israeli Government.

West Bank: Forced Displacement

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for securing this important debate.

The international community has been failing Palestinians for many months. That has been demonstrated during the last 21 months, and it has been heart-wrenching. At least 62,000 Palestinians are now dead. Malnutrition has reached alarming levels, as civilians are constantly deprived of food, water and humanitarian aid because of the Israeli blockade. The Israeli authorities have now ramped up home demolitions in the west bank and built more illegal settlements, displacing more and more Palestinians.

The surge in settler violence by Israeli authorities has left civilians in the west bank subject to daily attacks and harassment, and unable to access the services they desperately need to survive. The Palestinians who have lived in these areas have lived there for decades. It is their home. Communities are being uprooted, families are being stripped of their homes and lives are being shattered as we speak.

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is not good enough that children are growing up without the basics that they should expect? They are no longer able to access education, many have lost their lives, access to water is being restricted and there is absolute devastation. We must stand up against that and do all we can to support the Palestinian people.

[Tahir Ali]

I could not agree more.

The actions of Israel’s forces constitute forcible transfer, which is a violation of yet another international law by Israel. What more does Israel need to do before the United Kingdom decides to step up and take real action? That question is being asked not only in this House but throughout the country. Statements and warnings are no longer good enough. A joint statement with France and Canada on 19 May said that “concrete actions” will be taken if Israel does not back off, but we are yet to see what those concrete actions are. Homes have been demolished, hospitals have been destroyed, schools have been obliterated and Israel has forcibly displaced more than 6,000 Palestinians between October 2023 and May 2025. The Government must take all possible action to stop the constant and ongoing suffering.

Today, the violence is even worse than before, and tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated over the past couple of weeks, putting the region on the brink of a bloody war. A weakened Iran is desperate and dangerous, and an emboldened Netanyahu is also desperate and dangerous. Fighting fire with fire will be disastrous for the Palestinians and will put the whole region at risk of further harm.

The ceasefire was ineffective and sanctions have proved to be less than threatening. Now more than ever, it is time that the Government realised that the only way towards true and lasting peace is to end any complicity, to work towards a long-lasting two-state solution and to recognise the sovereign state of Palestine.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

For the purposes of time, I will not address the legal questions, not least given that they are being considered by a judicial review. We are confident that the limited carve-out we have done to maintain the functioning of the F-35 programme, which is vital to our national security and that of so many of our allies, is legal, proportionate and moral, and we will continue to fight that case in court.

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I welcome today’s announcement. It is a huge and significant step that sends a clear message to the Israeli Government. However, millions of people in Gaza go to bed every night, if they can even find a bed to sleep on, unsure whether they will wake up in the morning and whether their family members, who might have survived so far, will wake up with them. Does the Minister agree that we must take the next vital step towards the two-state solution, which is for the UK to recognise the state of Palestine next week at the conference that France and Saudi Arabia are leading on?

[Mr Falconer]

I will not repeat my answers about the conference next week, but my hon. Friend has been committed to these issues for a long time, and she is absolutely right when she says that millions of people are in an abject position, facing famine and terrible shortages of all essential supplies, and they weigh very much on the mind of this Government each and every day.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 13th May 2025 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

1. What discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the entry of aid and food supplies into Gaza.

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

3. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)]

Aid must be restored to Gaza. It should never be used as a political tool, and Israel is bound under international law to allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid. The UK has jointly called an urgent session of the UN Security Council this afternoon to address the dire situation in Gaza.

[Sarah Smith]

The current intentional blockade of food, water and medicine by the Israeli Government is preventing life-sustaining supplies from reaching thousands of children, who the Minister knows are most vulnerable to malnutrition and premature death. Save the Children estimates that over 65,000 children are suffering. What decisive action are the Government taking beyond the E3 statement to make it clear to the Government of Israel that their siege in Gaza must end immediately and that a humanitarian aid system cannot be replaced with a military-controlled one? Will he consider sanctions and the cessation of arms and rule out any trade deal, as children should not pay the price for the inaction of the international community?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the plight of children in Gaza and, indeed, all those suffering from the lack of aid and the continued conflict. This Government have been clear that the ceasefire must be restored. Since the E3 statement, which she mentions, we have taken the decision jointly with our partners to call an urgent session of the UN Security Council, given the gravity of the situation.

Israel: Refusal of Entry for UK Parliamentarians

Sarah Smith Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I have told the House the stated basis that my two hon. Friends were given for their refusal, and I will not pass further comment on what might or might not be behind that. As I say, the written reason was the prevention of illegal immigration considerations, as unlikely as that may seem to those in this Chamber.

On the deeply concerning reports about further deaths of humanitarian workers, this Government have expressed on a number of occasions our condemnation of the lack of a deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers who conduct essential work.

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I echo the comments from my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward), and I find it deeply troubling that the only Members who were detained and deported at the weekend are not white. Will the Minister express in the strongest terms his concerns about these events in any future Government discussions on peace and trade?

[Mr Falconer]

I am conscious of the time. We have expressed our concerns about this incident in the way that I described, and I expect to have further discussions with members of the Israeli Government to that effect.