Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's statement entitled Gaza Strip: States are obliged to prevent crimes against humanity and genocide, published 21 December 2023.

The Government is aware of the report. The UK continues to call for International Humanitarian Law to be respected by Israel in their actions in Gaza and for civilians to be protected. Israel plans to act within IHL and has the ability to do so, but we are also deeply concerned about the impact on the civilian population in Gaza. We regularly review advice about Israel's capability and commitment to IHL. We act consistent with that advice, for example when considering export licenses. Too many civilians have been killed and we want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.