Written questions by Mohamed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many evacuations from Gaza to the UK of (a) British nationals including dual Palestinian and British nationals, (b) their immediate family members, (c) UK visa holders who have spouses or partners or children under 18 living in the UK who have valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months and (d) UK visa holders who have valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months granted outside the Immigration Rules or on the basis of Article 8 ECHR have been facilitated by his Department since 7 October 2023.

The UK Government has helped 505 people to leave Gaza since October 2023. 306 are British nationals and their Palestinian dependants; 38 are Palestinian nationals who qualified for assistance under the extended eligibility criteria for Gaza published on 14 December 2023. Israeli exit clearance was sought and received in each of those cases. The extended eligibility criteria are published on FCDO Travel Advice and provide for the UK Government to try to support the exit of Palestinian nationals who have a spouse, partner or a child aged 17 or under living in the UK; and who hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months. Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians since Israel took control of Rafah crossing in May 2024. Nevertheless, the FCDO has helped 21 people to leave Gaza, mostly children, since October 2024.

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 Humanitarian Law and protect civilians, which includes journalists and media workers, and we call on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and guarantee the protection of journalists and media workers covering the conflict. On 02 November, I highlighted the ongoing situation in Gaza and those that had lost their lives in the name of press freedom. The UK remains committed to Media Freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society.

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 military actions in Gaza.

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 countries and statements and reports by the Israeli Government and military representatives, and the Palestinian Authority.

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-Gaza war, published 3 December 2024.

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 Humanitarian Law and protect civilians, which includes journalists and media workers. The UK calls on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and guarantee the protection of journalists and media workers covering the conflict. On 02 November, I highlighted the ongoing situation in Gaza and for those that had lost their lives in the name of press freedom. The UK remains committed to Media Freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society.

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 evacuate them for treatment in the UK.

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 announced £1 million of UK assistance to support medically evacuated Palestinians in Egypt. Through the World Health Organisation, the funds will provide vital supplies and medications, including rehabilitative equipment, and will strengthen capacity to care for patients with chronic diseases. UK funding to UNICEF is also providing lifesaving healthcare and specialist treatment to families in Gaza. We continue to press Israeli leaders on aid access including medical supplies: on 18 October the Prime Minister underlined that the dire humanitarian situation cannot continue. Israel can and must do more to ensure aid reaches civilians in Gaza.

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 Immigration Rules. Where a relevant application is made consideration will be given to exceptional circumstances, compelling or compassionate grounds. The UK is supporting the provision of essential healthcare to civilians in Gaza, including support to UK-MED for operating their field hospitals. We also recently announced £1m for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, delivered through WHO Egypt, to support medically evacuated Palestinians from Gaza.

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 partners to support those most in need, including £5.5m in additional funding for UK-Med to run field hospitals in Gaza, and an additional £6m for UNICEF to provide lifesaving aid to vulnerable families in Gaza. We are also the second largest donor to the 'Education Cannot Wait' fund which supports 5,000 children affected by the crisis, including those with disabilities. On 16 October, I announced £1 million of UK assistance to the World Health Organisation to support medically evacuated Palestinians in Egypt. These funds will provide vital supplies and medications, including rehabilitative equipment. We continue urgently to press Israel to ensure sufficient aid, including vital medical treatment, reaches civilians in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this in his 14 November call with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar.

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 medical staff to carry out their work unimpeded, and to travel around Gaza as needed.

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, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian and security situation. Conflict in Lebanon led to the mass displacement of over half a million Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians fleeing into Syria. We continue to monitor this as people are displaced, once again, due to developments in the North West. The UN-led political process remains the only path to a stable, peaceful and prosperous Syria and we continue to call on the Assad regime to engage meaningfully with the process.

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 International Humanitarian Law and allowed to provide life-saving services. It is unacceptable that North Gaza now has no functioning hospitals after strikes on Kamal Adwan hospital. On 5 November, I raised the UK's grave concerns that Kamal Adwan continues to come under fire with the Israeli Ambassador. This Government has been clear that Israel must do much more to protect civilians, civilian infrastructure and humanitarian workers, including the medics Gaza so desperately needs.

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 medical staff to carry out their work unimpeded, and to travel around Gaza as needed.

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 in North East Syria, most recently on 26 November. The UK recognises Turkey's legitimate security interests in Syria but also the need to protect civilian lives and infrastructure, and to avoid destabilising activity. Stability in the region is essential to prevent the worsening of the already serious humanitarian situation in northern Syria and enable the Global Coalition and its partners to continue the fight against Daesh.

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 will include assistance in evidence-gathering in relation to (a) proceedings and (b) prosecutions being undertaken by (i) national and (ii) international courts.

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 will scope options for future support. In the first instance, states themselves must investigate alleged criminal offences committed within their jurisdiction or by their nationals. We have been clear that the International Committee of the Red Cross must be given regular access to detainees.

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 NGOs. Through our aid programmes, we support human rights organisations in Israel and the OPTs on a range of issues, whose work is invaluable in providing us with relevant contextual analysis, in informing our engagements with relevant political authorities as well as in shaping our policy.

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 NGOs. Through our aid programmes, we support human rights organisations in Israel and the OPTs on a range of issues, whose work is invaluable in providing us with relevant contextual analysis, in informing our engagements with relevant political authorities as well as in shaping our policy.

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) judges, (b) lawyers and (c) experts from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative to (i) visit Israeli (A) detention facilities and (B) sites and (ii) produce a full investigatory report on their findings.

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 will scope options for future support. In the first instance, states themselves must investigate alleged criminal offences committed within their jurisdiction or by their nationals. We have been clear that the International Committee of the Red Cross must be given regular access to detainees.

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 including most recently on 13 November. Furthermore this year, as part of our ongoing support, the UK provided a direct grant to the Syrian Negotiation Commission to support their efforts.

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 export licensing criteria states that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL. Given the conclusions of the review, on 2 September the Government suspended around 30 export licences to Israel, effectively covering all arms exports for use in the current conflict in Gaza, exempting components for F-35 aircraft which, for reasons outlined in the Foreign Secretary's Statement and the Business and Trade Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement, have been excluded from the suspension.

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 the Israeli High Court by Gisha, Adalah, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, what steps he is taking to help the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

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 importance of getting much more aid into Gaza in a call with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on 19 October; the Foreign Secretary reiterated this in his call with Foreign Minister Katz on 27 October. The UK is committed to alleviating the suffering in Gaza and we provide significant funding to partners to support those most in need, including matching up to £10 million of public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Middle East humanitarian appeal.

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 International Humanitarian Law; and what account he has taken of submissions to his Department by (a) Al-Haq, (b) Global Legal Action Network, (c) Amnesty International, (d) Al-Mezan, (e) Human Rights Watch, (f) B'tselem, (g) Yesh-Din, and (h) Gisha.

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 comment on individual pieces of evidence.IHL assessments consider the three aspects of Israel's compliance: conduct of hostilities; humanitarian access and relief; and detainees. A lack of sufficient verifiable evidence applies only to the conduct of hostilities. This is in part due to the opaque and contested information environment in Gaza and the challenges of accessing specific and sensitive information, such as intended targets and anticipated civilian harm. However, the assessment's findings on Israel's compliance and commitment in the areas of humanitarian relief and treatment of detainees give cause for concern about its attitude and approach to the conduct of hostilities, as does the scale of the destruction and the number of civilian deaths. The Foreign Secretary has raised these concerns with the Government of Israel.More information on the process can be found at: Summary of the IHL process, decision and the factors taken into account - GOV.UK.