Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent the destruction of (a) hospitals and (b) medical facilities in the Gaza Strip.

The healthcare system in Gaza is now on the brink of collapse. As the Minister for International Development said in August, essential medicines are running our while all of Gaza's hospitals have been damaged, with most no longer functioning at all. Humanitarian workers must be protected, and medical and aid workers must be able to do their jobs safely.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials and I are in regular dialogue with our Israeli counterparts on the protection of healthcare facilities in Gaza. We will continue to make both public and private representations to the Government of Israel to protect healthcare staff and facilities.