Mr Speaker, the Christmas period has not brought peace to the middle east. There has been no let-up to the intolerable suffering in Gaza and no end to the cruelty for hostages. Millions are displaced, desperate and hungry. Israel continues to use devastating tactics that have seen far too many innocent civilians killed, with unacceptable blocks on essential aid, nowhere safe for civilians, a growing humanitarian catastrophe, and now warnings of a deadly famine. Meanwhile, Hamas terrorists continue to hold hostages, hide among civilians and fire rockets into Israel. This dire situation must not continue. The need for a sustained ceasefire is clear. The fighting must stop urgently. We need a humanitarian truce now—not as a short pause but as the first step towards what will stop the killing of innocents, provide urgent humanitarian relief, ward off famine, free hostages and provide the space for a sustainable ceasefire so that fighting does not restart. I urge the Government to do everything they can to work for a sustained ceasefire, which will also ease the growing regional tensions across the divides and avoid the catastrophe of a wider war. Those risks are rising. Will the Minister tell the House what steps the Government are taking to urge restraint in Lebanon and to see the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which would allow civilians on both sides of the border to return home? In the Red sea, all the targeting of commercial ships and international trade routes that puts civilians and military personnel in danger must stop, so I welcome the approach of the US, the UK, Germany and others to send clear warnings to those responsible. Will the Government ensure that this House has the time and space to scrutinise decisions of any significance that may be required?

Thank you Mr Speaker. I welcome the £2 million for additional food and the special envoy that so many of us have been calling for. First, now that Israel says it has dismantled Hamas in the north of Gaza, what are the plans to surge aid into the area, and what are Israel’s plans to rebuild the territory? Secondly, will my right hon. Friend give consideration to my proposal for an Israel-Palestine contact group that can start the hard work of a long-term peace process by kicking off track 2 negotiations?

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and may I wish you and your staff a very happy new year? Of course, it has not been a happy new year for the 2 million desperate and terrified people trapped inside Gaza, for whom 2024 brought further constant bombardment as well as the threat of famine and disease, with 50,000 people injured and almost 25,000 confirmed killed. That proves that repeated pleas from this Government and others for Israel to abide by international humanitarian law have been routinely ignored. Scotland’s First Minister recently described what is happening in Gaza as “tantamount to ethnic cleansing”, and South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice to urgently declare Israel in breach of the 1948 genocide convention for its continued killing of Palestinians, the destruction of homes, the expulsion of people and the blockade of food, water and medical assistance. Do the UK Government think that Scotland’s First Minister and the Government of South Africa are wrong in their assessment of the current situation? If they are wrong, how are they wrong specifically?

What have we learned since we last met? We have learned that Hamas are using North Korean weapons. We have heard of further examples of gender-based violence, we have heard examples of hostages being kept in cages, and we have heard the testimony of a released 17-year-old hostage, Agam Goldstein Almog, who spoke of sexual violence and torture perpetrated against hostages who are still being held. To top it all, in the last few days Jibril Rajoub, a Palestinian Authority representative and the secretary of Fatah’s central committee, has said: “We view political Islam, and foremost among it the Hamas Movement, as part of the fabric of our struggle and our political and social fabric.” Given what the Minister has said about the need for a two-state solution and the role of Fatah and the PA in that, what representations is he making to the PA about the radicalised language that they are using?

As the Minister will know, a large number of children are being killed or injured as a result of the conflict. Hospital facilities in Gaza have collapsed. Will the Minister convene a meeting with NGOs to establish what further assistance our country could give?

What will happen if shipping is further targeted in international waters? Will the Government attack silos from which missiles are launched?

Medical Aid For Palestinians reports that Al-Aqsa hospital has been forced to close due to increasing Israeli military activity. Will the Government's support for bombing apply in every conflict, or only in Gaza?

Are the Government discussing in the Arab region to get Hamas to move away from its stated aims of destroying Israel?

Said Zaaneen, a PhD student at the University of Sheffield, is trapped in Gaza. Can the Minister extend eligibility for Foreign Office lists to those Palestinian nationals who are middle of courses at UK universities?

Women and girls reported to have been raped or mutilated by Hamas in Israel. What assessment has my right hon Friend's Department made of the emerging evidence? Has he had conversations with the Red Cross?

The Israeli Defence Minister has set out proposals for post-war governance involving a multinational taskforce. What is the British Government’s assessment of those proposals?

The World Health Organisation has warned about overcrowding and inadequate food, water, shelter and sanitation. What steps are being taken to support partners on the ground in Gaza?

What confidence does the Minister have that Israel will conduct its counter-insurgency operations in such a way as to abide by international humanitarian law?

Does the Minister agree that something more draconian may be needed to deter worsening activity by violent settlers? Would he look at instituting immediate bans on trade with settlements?

Senior representatives of Israel continue to use language endorsing genocide against Palestinians. Will the Minister now condemn her genocidal words and commit to taking the strongest possible action?

Given that Hamas will never accept a two-state solution, does the Minister agree that any two-state solution must exclude Hamas—or any renamed successor—from any role in the government of Gaza?

Asked the Minister about the UK's position on the International Court of Justice case brought by South Africa regarding Israel and Gaza, seeking clarity on whether all parties should abide by any outcomes from it.

Inquired about the welfare of hostages in Gaza, including children among them, asking whether there is a strategy to ensure their wellbeing.

Inquired about the South African application to the International Court of Justice and whether it seems prima facie that Israel has committed serious breaches of international law.

Asked about the adequacy of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill in reflecting concerns over illegal and violent Israeli activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Pressed for a commitment to call for an immediate ceasefire if the International Court of Justice orders Israel to suspend military operations.

Asked about efforts to ensure the Red Cross can access hostages in Gaza, including their health needs.

Inquired about potential progress towards a ceasefire, hostage release, and peace negotiations involving UK mediation.

Asked about preparations to send volunteer medical practitioners to Gaza post-ceasefire, referencing local community engagement in his constituency.

Pressed for support of ICC investigations into potential war crimes in Gaza, emphasising proportionality and necessity.

Asked for clarification on conditions necessary for a sustainable ceasefire, referencing Security Council resolution 2720.

Suggested using lessons from The Gambia's ICJ case to apply pressure on both Israeli and Hamas for a ceasefire.

In light of recent comments by Israeli Ministers and the Israeli ambassador to the UK, what steps have the UK Government taken to ensure that Palestinians can return to their homes in Gaza as soon as conditions allow?

Will the Minister condemn his Israeli counterpart for seeking to permanently displace Palestinians from their homes, confirm that Members of the Israeli Government are advocating for breaches of international law and agree that the actions of the Israeli state contravene the genocide convention? As a first step, will he call for an immediate ceasefire?

Will he reassure me and my constituents that his Department will continue to keep food aid and medical aid to Gaza under review, and redouble its efforts to work with neighbouring countries to ensure that aid gets where it is needed most?

Why are this Government so quick—and rightly—to condemn Russia’s war crimes, but not Israel’s war crimes?

Does my right hon. Friend agree that His Majesty’s Government should do the same and criticise South Africa’s action?

What steps are the Government taking to restrain Israel from breaking international law?

Has the Foreign Secretary hauled her in to explain that this Government oppose that policy?

How is his humanitarian strategy responding to the desperate needs of children affected by the conflict?

Does the Minister still believe that the Israel Defence Forces response remains proportionate?

Are we not just greenlighting a leader who was already unpopular before all this and who cares less about pinpoint accuracy and international law?

Why the double standards? Is it credible to continue with them?

The Minister has supported a two-state solution, with Gaza under Palestinian control, but the proposals tabled last week by the Israeli Defence Minister are very different, envisaging a subsidiary status of some kind for Palestine. How in practice does the Minister envisage the two-state model being taken forward once the conflict ends?

The Minister himself acknowledged that the spectre of famine is stalking Gaza. I applaud his aim to restore the pre-war level of 500 or so trucks going into Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, but will he tell us how many trucks actually went through in the last 24 hours? Is it true that in some cases trucks are waiting up to 15 days for clearance and that trucks are taken out of the convoy of aid because one item has failed security checks?

The Minister has referred multiple times to the application of international law. What definition of proportionate, targeted and minimising are the Government applying if they consider the actions of Israel to be in compliance with all of those? How many children have to be killed before the Government stop the linguistic gymnastics and call for an immediate ceasefire?

On 11 December, along with other parliamentarians, I heard the harrowing eyewitness account of Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a British-Palestinian surgeon who had recently returned from Gaza. He spoke of the desperate state of the healthcare provision there, with a lack of essential supplies and no morphine for patients after surgery. Will the Government put pressure on Israel to allow the delivery of those vital supplies?

We know that women and children make up about 70% of the more than 22,000 people who have been killed in Gaza. That is a horrific number, and should be called such. Does the Minister recognise the particular impact on innocent women and children, and the urgent need, therefore, for a ceasefire to protect them now and in the future?

The suffering in Gaza over the last three months has been intolerable. I have spoken with many constituents about how unbearable it is to see, day after day, innocent civilians, particularly children, being killed. We urgently need to get to a sustainable ceasefire. What discussions have the UK Government had with international allies about the future of Gaza once the fighting has come to an end?

Has the Minister made clear to the Israeli Government his criticism of the comments of the Israeli ambassador in which she explicitly rejected a two-state solution, what has the response of the Israeli Prime Minister been?

The Israeli Government have demanded full control of the Philadelphi corridor, the land border between Gaza and Egypt. As the Minister himself said earlier, it is the main aid corridor for UK and international aid into Gaza. How concerned are the British Government about the Israeli Government’s demands in respect of the Philadelphi corridor?

Young women just out of school remain in captivity, facing rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war by Hamas. That is why the likes of me have been calling for, and voting for, an end to the violence. Does the Minister agree that we should call for a humanitarian truce?

Young women just out of school remain in captivity, facing rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war by Hamas. On the other side, senior politicians and the Israeli ambassador now feel the confidence to be able to declare that a two-state solution is off the table, completely ruling out the position that the Minister articulates.

It was pleasing to hear the Minister say that Gaza must be run by Palestinians and that there should be no forced resettlement of Palestinians. I am deeply concerned by the comments made by the Israeli ambassador condemning the two-state solution. Further to the response that the Minister gave to my hon. Friends, will he outline whether there is an international coalition for a two-state solution? How powerful is this international coalition? How much influence does it have over Israel, and what is Britain’s role within it?

Over Christmas, I heard from a constituent whose sister and her sister’s four children are stuck in Gaza. If there were a ceasefire, it might be easier for them to leave Gaza. If the UK were prepared to offer humanitarian visas to relatives of UK citizens who are in Gaza, it might be easier for them to leave. What is the Minister’s message to my constituent, her sister and her sister’s young children who are trapped in Gaza?

The Minister mentioned Oslo in response to my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms). The sad truth is that Prime Minister Netanyahu never really supported Oslo and a two-state solution, and Hamas definitely do not. The two have thrived off each other’s absolutist positions over the past few decades. For those of us who do believe in Oslo, in the peace process and in two states for two peoples, what happens next really matters. The Minister says he wants to secure better arrangements for the Palestinian Authority after the fighting ends. What does he mean by that?

In the light of Tzipi Hotovely’s statement on LBC radio that the destruction of Gaza should continue and be extensive, why have the Government not condemned those words, which drew back on her previous comments about a two-state solution? What is the Minister going to do, because this is inconsistent with everything he is saying at the Dispatch Box?

I am struggling to understand what the Government’s response is, apart from surprise at the use of extremist language. What chance can there be for the humanitarian truce that is needed now, and for a sustainable ceasefire and a lasting peace, when extremist views are uttered not just by terrorist organisations but by some Ministers and diplomats representing the Israeli Government?

A great many of my constituents write to me on a daily basis demanding that the Government change their position to deliver a ceasefire, but on the point about language, when Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir said that Gaza should be essentially free of Palestinians, the Government, along with European counterparts, correctly condemned them, but when the ambassador in London called for Gaza to be flattened even more than it already has been, they say nothing. Why?

The UN has described Gaza as a ‘graveyard for children’; it is reported that more than 9,000 have been killed and thousands more severely injured. Those children who have survived face a bleak future, with limited access to aid as bombs continue to rain down on them. Many have lost their parents and their entire families. I heard the Minister’s earlier responses, but can he explain in more detail why the Government support unaccompanied children fleeing Ukraine but cannot set up similar support for children in Gaza?

Further to that question, we know that children are seven times more likely than adults to be killed by blast injuries and that 1,000 children have lost one or both legs in the last three months in Gaza. The scars that Gazan children are bearing from this war will be long-lasting, so does the Minister agree that to have that two-state solution—that long and lasting peace—we need to step up as part of an international community to defend Gazan children?

After almost 23,000 civilian deaths, including almost 10,000 children, many observers are describing the atrocity in Gaza as a genocide. I take the Minister at his word on his belief that we need to see a two-state solution. However, last week we heard Bezalel Smotrich, the Finance Minister, describing the need for voluntary emigration from Gaza and Israeli occupation and resettlement of Gaza, and we heard Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ambassador Hotovely describing what they want to see, which is the outright destruction of Hamas and the Palestinian people. I think we need to be honest: when Netanyahu calls for a total victory, he wants to see the annihilation of the Palestinian people, doesn’t he?

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Is the Minister aware that before Christmas a sniper murdered two women—a mother and a daughter—inside the Holy Family parish in Gaza? The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem stated that the women were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents. Pope Francis has condemned the attack, as has the Archbishop of Westminster; will the Government do so?