Like many of our partners, the UK Government uses data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to report on daily casualties in the current Gaza conflict. OCHA draws on figures issued from the Gazan Ministry of Health (MoH). Producing reliable casualty statistics in contexts of violent conflict is never straightforward. The MoH verify and identify the dead by age, gender and ID number.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has consulted experts, including from the London School of Tropical Medicine, OCHA, the World Health Organization and Every Casualty Counts, and interrogates relevant research. Experts assess that the total number of deaths in Gaza since 7 October 2023 estimated by the Gaza Ministry of Health is a reasonable figure, and likely to be an underestimate. MoH data does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas operatives.

Reports of the mistreatment of the hostages held by Hamas, as set out by released hostages such as Eli Sharabi, are deeply concerning. We continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, including Avinatan Or, Shay Levinson, and Yossi Sharabi who have strong links to the UK.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has consistently shared that it hasn't been permitted access to hostages. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We have reiterated our call for the ICRC to be granted unfettered and immediate access to the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The ICRC has been facilitating the handover of hostages and the delivery of aid into Gaza.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has consistently said that it has not been permitted access to hostages. The ICRC has been facilitating the handover of hostages and the delivery of aid into Gaza. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We have reiterated our call for the ICRC to be granted unfettered and immediate access to the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Since day one of this government, we have prioritised working to end this conflict and secure the safe release of hostages, in co-ordination with international partners. The Prime Minister - along with other G7 Leaders - has fully endorsed efforts by the US and regional partners to reach a comprehensive deal in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2735. The UK continues to call for the International Red Cross to be given access to the hostages to provide urgent humanitarian support. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have personally raised Emily Damari's case with the Israeli government, with partners in the region and with close allies like the United States.

All UK aid undergoes rigorous oversight. Our programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories operate with enhanced sensitivity with additional safeguards to protect against any possibility of aid diversion. They include measures to verify and map downstream partners, non-payment of local taxes and enhanced due-diligence processes. We constantly review the due-diligence assessments in place with all partners involved in delivering aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. No funding goes to Hamas and we have no information to indicate that UK aid sent to Gaza over the last five years has been used for unintended purposes.

We continue to carry out air drops, including most recently on 9 April. We are using the A400M, a highly capable tactical and strategic airlift platform, with drop zones surveyed before and during the airdrop to ensure aid is delivered safely to civilians.

That is absolutely right. I believe those discussions are under way, and it is a great pity that they did not reach that conclusion the last time they were under way. As I said, the best outcome we could seek is an immediate stop in the fighting. Let us hope that the stop is for as long as possible. I think that Israel was content to offer a month or six weeks as a pause. Then we need the momentum to turn that pause into a permanent ceasefire, without a return to the fighting. That should be our goal but, crucially, the pause is necessary to get the aid in and the hostages out.

My Lords, I reflected the noble Lord’s sentiments in my earlier responses. We are engaging with all key partners, including the Palestinian Authority. Earlier this morning I had a meeting with Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior member of the Executive of Mr Abbas. The Prime Minister has engaged directly with President Abbas, I have spoken to Foreign Minister al-Maliki, and the Foreign Secretary has been fully engaged. We have done so because the PA represents those who represent the interests of the Palestinians. In the future of that region, the rights and protection of all citizens, irrespective of faith or community, must be upheld. For the long-term horizon, that means a sustainable, two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace. However, at this moment we must ensure the return of the hostages, that this threat from Hamas is put to bed and, ultimately, that sustainable peace can be achieved. We all wish and pray for a future in that region without Hamas.

The UK continually monitors the humanitarian context in Gaza, including in the health sector, and we remain deeply concerned about restrictions on movement and access and the impact that this is having on the wounded and critically ill. Officials raised Palestinian Authority (PA) funding of health referrals for patients from Gaza to Israel in a meeting with the Minister for Health in June 2018 and continue to do as part of broader engagement with the PA on their obligations in Gaza. We have not received reports of the PA restricting Gazan exit permits but are looking into this issue.

DFID continually assesses the humanitarian context in Gaza, including the health sector, which remains under significant strain. Movement restrictions on patients seeking medical treatment outside Gaza remain a critical concern, particularly since the number of patients requesting access to medical care outside Gaza on a monthly basis increased significantly in 2018 compared to 2017. Recent information from the World Health Organisation Monthly Report November 2018: Health Access for Referral Patients from the Gaza Strip, published on 30 December 2018, showed that there is a positive trend over the prior 12 months for medical permits granted by the Government of Israel. However, access to some medical services, such as cancer treatment, remains constrained. The UK hopes to see this positive trend continue and for the wounded and critically ill in Gaza to be able to access the urgent medical care they need.

The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa discussed the situation in Gaza with the Egyptian Foreign Minister in October, and officials in Cairo regularly raise the issue of Rafah crossing with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, most recently on 10 January. The Minister also raised the issue of Palestinian Authority staff being withdrawn from the Rafah crossing with the Palestinian Head of Mission to London on 23 January. We continue to urge Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to work together to ensure a durable solution for Gaza.

A senior UK Government official discussed a range of challenges facing the Palestinian healthcare system with the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Minister of Health in June last year, including the PA’s healthcare budget, the quality of healthcare available, and shortages of drugs and medical supplies in Gaza. Restrictions in Gaza were most recently raised with the PA earlier this month by a UK Government official.

A senior UK Government official discussed a range of challenges facing the Palestinian healthcare system with the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Minister of Health in June last year, including the PA’s healthcare budget, the quality of healthcare available, and shortages of drugs and medical supplies in Gaza. Restrictions in Gaza were most recently raised with the PA earlier this month by a UK Government official.

We remain deeply concerned by Hamas' attempts to rearm and its efforts to rebuild infrastructure, including the tunnel network in Gaza. We are clear that Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza must permanently end rocket fire and other attacks against Israel. Any Hamas rearmament undermines efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harms prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

We understand that the International Committee of the Red Cross office in Gaza closed on 7 February for security reasons following protests in solidarity with a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli detention. We have not raised this specific issue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) but we have urged the PA to make progress on resuming control in Gaza.

The noble Lord makes a good point about approaches to the problems in this area. We are concerned by the restrictions at the Rafah crossing and are urging the Egyptians to show maximum flexibility in reopening it. We are also calling on Israel to fulfil its obligation by lifting its restrictions in order to ease the suffering of ordinary Palestinians and to allow the Gaza economy to grow.

We have no plans to alert Gazan citizens of the need to vacate areas where Hamas are rebuilding tunnels. It would be the role of the de facto government in Gaza or the Government of Israel to give a warning if the civilian population were under threat from any military action. International Humanitarian Law requires warring parties to give ‘effective advance warning’ of attacks that may affect civilian populations.

We stress the importance of protecting the civilian population in accordance with international law with the Government of Israel and we have asked all those with influence to stress the same point to Hamas.

DFID is providing £0.5million to the Materials Monitoring Unit (MMU) which oversees and monitors the import, storage, supply and use of construction materials into Gaza under the auspices of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM). This Mechanism is designed to ensure reconstruction material reaches those who need it most.

We continue to engage with the Palestinian Authority, the UN and the Government of Israel to ensure the mechanism continues to work as intended and that any possible infractions are reported.