Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip on the humanitarian situation in that region.

Ministers and officials regularly raise the situation in Gaza with the Egyptian Government both in London and in Cairo. We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Gaza and support the Palestinian Authority returning to administer Gaza. The Foreign Secretary discussed Gaza with new Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 20 March. We continue to urge Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to work together to ensure a durable solution for Gaza.