Written questions by Mohamed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many medical evacuations to the UK of Palestinians in Gaza who are non-British nationals there have been since 7 October 2023.

We regularly press Israel at senior levels to re-open safe, regular medical evacuation routes, and to protect healthcare facilities and staff. It is unacceptable that north Gaza now has no functioning hospitals and that medical personnel are being detained without justification.Our support to UK-Med has treated over 300,000 patients in Gaza and we recently provided £1m, delivered through WHO, to support medically evacuated Palestinians in Egypt. We are keeping our policy under constant review to ensure the UK does everything we can to support sick and wounded Palestinian civilians.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Committee to Protect Journalists press release entitled, Journalist casualties in the Israel

Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary, together with his French and German counterparts, wrote to the Israeli government to urge action on the unacceptable situation in Gaza. The UK has been clear that Israel must act in accordance with International ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect (a) journalists and (b) media workers (i) based and (ii) operating in Gaza.

Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary, together with his French and German counterparts, wrote to the Israeli government to urge action on the unacceptable situation in Gaza. The UK has been clear that Israel must act in accordance with International ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department uses journalistic reporting from Palestinian journalists in Gaza when conducting assessments into (a) the humanitarian situation and (b) Israeli milita

Our assessments are supported by a wide ranging and detailed evidence base. This includes relevant regional media reporting, including from Palestinian journalists, open-source material, analysis of the conflict by international bodies, NGOs and partner c...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to evacuate (a) children and (b) adults from Gaza, including those now in Egypt, for medical treatment that is not available in either place.

The plight of sick and injured people in Gaza is deeply distressing. We urge Israel to open safe, regular routes for those requiring medical evacuation. There are provisions that allow Palestinians to come to the UK for Private Medical Treatment under the...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to work with (a) the Palestinian authority and (b) Egypt to identify (i) adults and (ii) children with disabilities in order to evacuat

The UK government is closely monitoring the impact of the conflict in Gaza on access to medical facilities and healthcare, including for disabled people. Through our support to UK-Med, we are helping to run field hospitals in Gaza. On 16 October, I announ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is providing targeted funding to help ensure that children with disabilities in Gaza are included in UK-funded humanitarian responses in Gaza.

The plight of disabled children in Gaza is deeply distressing. They are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, and their access to healthcare is disproportionately affected in times of conflict. The UK continues to provide significant funding to partner...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the protection of healthcare workers in Gaza under international humanitarian law.

We are deeply concerned by the reports that Israeli airstrikes have hit health facilities and killed and injured medical personnel. Medical workers and facilities, including ambulances, and rescue personnel must be protected in accordance with Internation...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Israeli counterpart on the case of Dr Mohammed Hamouda.

We are concerned by the reports that Dr. Mohammed Hamouda was detained by the Israeli authorities on 6 November. I raised his case with the Israeli Ambassador in November and FCDO officials have been following up the case since then. Israel must allow med...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking diplomatic steps to secure the release of Dr Mohammed Hamouda in Israel.

We are concerned by the reports that Dr. Mohammed Hamouda was detained by the Israeli authorities on 6 November. I raised his case with the Israeli Ambassador in November and FCDO officials have been following up the case since then. Israel must allow med...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of conflict in (a) Gaza and (b) Lebanon on stability in Syria.

Recent developments in Syria demonstrate how unstable the situation is. As I told colleagues in the House on 2 December, events in Syria are moving quickly, and the trajectory is unclear. Syria continues to be a theatre for regional tensions to play out, ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent Turkish airstrikes in Northeastern Syria on the humanitarian situation in the area.

The UK, together with our humanitarian partners, is closely monitoring the impacts of recent Turkish airstrikes in North East Syria and continues to provide life-saving humanitarian support there. UK officials regularly engage with Turkey on the situation...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 10864 on Israel: Palestinians, whether the planned support from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative wi

We have consistently called for all alleged violations and abuses, including sexual violence, to be fully investigated to ensure justice for victims and survivors. Our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Team of Experts deployment wil...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held discussions with the Syrian opposition.

The UK remains committed to the UN-facilitated political process and recognises the vital role that the Opposition has in facilitating a lasting peace settlement in Syria. We regularly meet representatives of the Syrian Opposition at official level includ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 10864 on Israel: Palestinians, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning a delegation of (a

We have consistently called for all alleged violations and abuses, including sexual violence, to be fully investigated to ensure justice for victims and survivors. Our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Team of Experts deployment wil...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) briefings, (b) reports and (c) representations he has received from (i) Palestinian and (ii) Israeli human rights organisations.

The UK trebled its aid commitment to the OPTs in the last financial year. This Government has now committed £99 million to the OPTs this financial year to provide vital services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank delivered through partner agencies and...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what financial support his Department has provided to (a) Palestinian and (b) Israeli human rights organisations in the last three years.

The UK trebled its aid commitment to the OPTs in the last financial year. This Government has now committed £99 million to the OPTs this financial year to provide vital services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank delivered through partner agencies and...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with F-35 programme partners on the risk of components supplied to Israel being used to commit violations of international law.

On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), given the grave concerns about the conduct and consequences of the war in Gaza for civilians. The UK's robust ex...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 8316 Gaza: Humanitarian aid and with reference to the update published by Gisha on 23 October 2024 on the petition to th

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is intolerable. The UK condemns Israel's restrictions on aid - as the Prime Minister has said, the world will not tolerate any more excuses from Israel on humanitarian assistance. The Prime Minister stressed the importan...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 7719 on Israel: Arms Trade, what the basis is for a lack of sufficient verifiable evidence of possible breaches of Inter

The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) assessment process gathers information from a wide range of sources, including reporting from international and multilateral bodies, NGOs on the ground, open-source evidence and internal reporting. We do not commen...