Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that humanitarian support for Gaza cannot be used to further Hamas’ objectives.

I will refer the honourable member to our response to PQ 40467. We are aware of allegations that Hamas uses humanitarian aid for its own gain. We have encouraged Israel to share evidence with the UN/ International Non-Governmental Organizations. We have not seen clear evidence of systematic aid diversion to Hamas, and given the ongoing hostilities in Gaza we are unable to verify allegations through direct monitoring. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) humanitarian programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories operate with additional safeguards to manage the risk of aid diversion. Our emergency humanitarian response is delivered through trusted, credible partners to minimise risk. These partners operate in line with humanitarian principles, including neutrality, and have demonstrated their ability to deliver aid to the most vulnerable in the most challenging contexts. We remain in regular contact with partners regarding operational delivery, risk management and monitoring of delivery.