Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on creating a medical corridor to enable disabled Palestinians in Gaza to be treated in (a) East Jerusalem and (b) the Occupied West Bank.

As the Prime Minister said in his statement on 28 October, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unacceptable. We remain gravely concerned about deteriorating health provision, particularly in northern Gaza. We have pressed Israel at senior levels to urgently establish sustained, safe and timely passage for patients who need medical or surgical interventions not available in Gaza. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories raised the issue of medical evacuations for injured Palestinians with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During my visit to Al Arish, Egypt on 16 October, where I announced £1 million of UK assistance for Egypt's support to medically evacuated Gazans, I saw that many tonnes of lifesaving aid continue to be denied entry into Gaza by Israel. The UK is supporting the provision of essential healthcare to Palestinian civilians, including through field hospitals operated by UK-Med in Gaza, and through support to the Egyptian health ministry to care for medically evacuated Palestinians.