Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on Hamas’s placement of military infrastructure within civilian areas.

It is clear that Hamas has put Palestinians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population, and Hamas has used civilians as human shields. The Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 23 November, where he met President Herzog, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Cohen and other senior Israeli interlocutors to discuss the conflict. However, we are not going to specifically comment on individual locations. Israel has a legitimate right to self-defence against Hamas but the Israel Defense Forces military actions in Gaza must be carried out in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and Israel must take all possible measures to protect civilians.