Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide more polymerase chain reaction machines and swabs to Gaza.

We remain concerned about the capacity of the Palestinian health system to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. We are aware of the temporary cessation of COVID-19 testing in Gaza on 6 December and welcome reports from the World Health Organisation that further testing kits arrived in Gaza on 7 December and testing resumed.

We have already delivered vital support to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through £1.25 million in funding (World Health Organisation with £630,000 and United Nations Children's Fund with £620,000). This funding helped to provide over 20,000 testing kits, mainly in Gaza.