Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help increase the amount of potable water in Gaza.

As part of the wider ask for greater aid access into Gaza, this government, including the Foreign Secretary, have consistently raised the need for greater access to water supplies, and the opening of vital water lines, with Israel. Through UK funding to humanitarian agencies, including United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and UK-Med, we are also providing essential healthcare to civilians in Gaza, including activities to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). On 7 August, on her visit to Jordan, the Minister of State for Development announced £6 million of funding for UNICEF. The package will help tens of thousands of Gazans access food and water, as well as health, education and wellbeing services. The UK has also committed £1.2 million in co-funding with Kuwait to support UNICEF's WASH work in Gaza.