Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of transporting aid to Gaza by sea.

We assess that the delivery of aid through Ashdod Port presents the most viable maritime route at this time. The UK has previously worked with partners to operationalise a maritime aid corridor, but we have always been clear that this can never be a substitute for delivery by land, which remains the best way to get aid in at the scale needed.

The UK continues to call on the Government of Israel to abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza.