Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an estimate of the daily volume of aid required to pass through the Rafah crossing to meet the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza beyond Rafah and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.

We want Israel to extend the opening hours and capacity of the Nitzana screening facility and Kerem Shalom checkpoint so more trucks, aid and fuel can enter Gaza. We also want Israel to open Ashdod Port as a route for aid to reach Gaza, and open the Erez Crossing to allow direct access to the north of Gaza.

The Foreign Secretary discussed the urgency of getting significantly more aid into Gaza to alleviate the desperate situation there with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 24 January.