Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the UK responds adequately to the humanitarian crisis of the collapsed healthcare system in Gaza.

The UK Government is concerned about the worsening humanitarian context in Gaza. The FCDO is closely monitoring the impact of the conflict, including on health. We recently announced £5.5 million for UK-Med to support the ongoing work of its field hospitals and the rehabilitation of the emergency department at Nasser Hospital in Gaza. Since the start of the 2024/25 Financial Year we have also provided additional funding to humanitarian agencies including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) (£21 million) and UNICEF (£6 million) for their activities, which include healthcare. We welcome the news that the UN's polio vaccine campaign is now underway, and that the UK's funding to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is supporting delivery. We continue to press Israel to increase humanitarian access, including health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) relief items.