Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on using the armed forces to deliver desalination equipment to the coast of Gaza.

We have increased our military assets in the eastern Mediterranean to deter malign actors, support British nationals and giving the UK the presence to respond to the humanitarian crisis as needed. This includes the deployment of a Royal Navy task group to the eastern Mediterranean, including RFA Lyme Bay and RFA Argus, three merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines as a contingency measure. RAF surveillance aircraft are also patrolling the skies to track threats to regional stability such as the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups.

To support the UK's humanitarian response, four aircraft, enabled by the RAF, flew 74 tonnes of emergency relief to Egypt for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We keep the situation under review.