Middle East

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I do not know whether the right hon. Gentleman is legally qualified, but there are many lawyers who take that view. As he knows, we made an assessment, based on a clear risk of a breach of international humanitarian law, that meant we suspended arms sales that could be used in Gaza.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

Happy birthday, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s blockade and weaponisation of starvation has plunged Gaza into famine. That is why the UN Secretary-General has described this man-made catastrophe as a “failure of humanity”. While children die of hunger, the Israeli Government continue to deny the existence of starvation in the very territory they seek to occupy. Before the summer recess, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary informed the House about additional aid for Gaza. Will he tell us how much of that aid has actually got into Gaza? What other further urgent steps are the Government taking to bring this inhumane treatment of the Palestinian population to an end?

[Mr Lammy]

I reassure my hon. Friend that the good news is that the aid we have supported is getting in. Principally, that has been of medical supplies, addressing the dire situation in Gaza. We have also been able to work with the World Food Programme. The World Food Programme appears to be the UN agency that is having the most effect in delivering aid on the ground. It is not sufficient, but it is having some effect. I will be in the region in the coming days discussing these issues in further detail.