Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the International Committee of the Red Cross on its role in hostage handovers conducted by Hamas.

We are in regular contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which is facilitating the handover of hostages and the delivery of aid into Gaza. The UK reaffirms its support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out its important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to the hostages, to fulfil its independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.