Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Tuesday 2 September 2025 · 7 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 7 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial concerns were raised about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including acute malnutrition among children and famine conditions affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
  • The UK Government is pressing the Israeli Government to lift restrictions on aid and is working with partners to deliver supplies to Gaza.
  • Belgium has announced new sanctions and a review of contracts with Israeli companies, following the UK's lead in addressing the humanitarian crisis.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Roz Savage Lib Dem South Cotswolds
NHS Foreign Affairs
Context

Amnesty International has condemned Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war, while the UN deputy relief chief has called the aid blockade a human-made crisis. Over 20,000 Palestinian children have been hospitalised for acute malnutrition this year.

Question

More than 20,000 Palestinian children have been hospitalised for acute malnutrition this year alone. Amnesty International has condemned Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war, and the UN deputy relief chief has called the aid blockade a 'human-made crisis'. Will the Minister move beyond words of condemnation and commit to concrete action, including stopping all arms exports to Israel, and immediately and unconditionally recognising the statehood of Palestine?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

The hon. Lady raises vital questions. The IPC—integrated food security phase classification—report over the recess was truly horrifying: 500,000 people in Gaza are facing famine. We continue to take the actions that we discussed in the House yesterday afternoon, in relation to recognition and the suspension of arms that could be used in Gaza.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific requests about stopping arms exports and recognising Palestinian statehood were not addressed directly

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q2 Alistair Strathern Lab Hitchin
Context

The situation in Gaza has worsened since last year, with more than 20,000 Palestinian children hospitalised for acute malnutrition. There have been some welcome moves from the Government but clearly not enough.

Question

I share many of my constituents’ despair and anger about the intolerable suffering in Gaza. Last year, I had the privilege of meeting one of my constituents, Becky, to hear about her heartbreaking experience of delivering medical aid in Palestine. Devastatingly, a year on, the situation is much worse, with Gaza now the child amputee capital of the world and thousands more families pushed to starvation. There have been some welcome moves from the Government in recent months, but clearly not enough has yet been done—nothing can be until the suffering has stopped. What further urgent action can we take to finally secure access to the aid that Gaza desperately needs, and end this intolerable suffering?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

I thank my hon. Friend and his constituent, Becky. Over the recess, I met doctors who have served in Gaza. Hearing their first-hand accounts of the injuries that children are suffering there was truly horrifying. We continue to press the Israeli Government. They must act urgently to lift restrictions, open up aid flows and enable the UN and international non-governmental organisations to carry out their lifesaving work without obstruction.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Further urgent actions not specified in detail

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q3 Sarah Green Lib Dem Luton North
Foreign Affairs
Context

Médecins Sans Frontières has referred to locations used by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as sites of 'orchestrated killing'. The GHF is not working and has led to thousands upon thousands of injuries and many, many deaths at its sites.

Question

The Minister will know that Médecins Sans Frontières has referred to the locations used by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as sites of “orchestrated killing”. What pressure are the Government bringing to bear on both the Israeli and US Governments to stop using the foundation and reinstate the United Nations-led system of aid delivery?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. The Foreign Secretary set out our very clear views yesterday afternoon. The GHF is not working and has led to thousands upon thousands of injuries and many, many deaths at its sites. I have heard of the considerable looting that is associated with the lack of UN machinery—machinery that was functioning effectively.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Details about pressure applied not specified in detail

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q4 Helen Maguire Lib Dem Epsom and Ewell
Foreign Affairs
Context

The UN has now confirmed famine in Gaza City. More than half a million people face catastrophic conditions of starvation, destitution and death.

Question

The UN has now confirmed famine in Gaza City. More than half a million people face catastrophic conditions of starvation, destitution and death. This is a man-made disaster, described by the UN Secretary-General as “a failure of humanity”. At least 600 daily truckloads are needed to avert further famine-related deaths, yet Israel continues to block aid. Will the Government commit today to concrete actions to pressure the Israeli Government to lift the obstruction, including sanctioning all members of the Cabinet, including Netanyahu, who are complicit in the illegal aid blockade?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

I have been clear already about our views on the vital urgency of lifting aid restrictions. I have gone myself to the border to see our aid in al-Arish. I have spoken to our partners. UK-Med, for example, has been chasing consignments since March. We make these points with force to the Israeli Government, and we have already taken far-reaching sanction action, as discussed by the Foreign Secretary yesterday afternoon.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific sanctions against individual officials not addressed in detail

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q5 Sarah Owen Lab Luton North
Foreign Affairs
Context

In famine conditions, new mothers often eat last and eat the least. This time next year, around 55,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza could be at risk of death by starvation that is man-made.

Question

In famine conditions, new mothers often eat last and eat the least. This time next year, around 55,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza could be at risk of death by starvation that is man-made. Following Belgium’s announcement today of new sanctions and a review of contracts with Israeli companies, can the Minister say what consequences Israel will face if it continues to starve the population of Gaza?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

My hon. Friend has a long track record of raising such issues, and she is absolutely right to highlight the fate of pregnant women and those who have recently given birth in Gaza. I am pleased to tell the House that we are still able to get some supplies relevant to those challenges into Gaza, but clearly in a famine of this nature, pregnant women and recently born children suffer the worst.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Potential consequences not detailed in response

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q6 Mary Glindon Lab Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
Foreign Affairs
Context

President Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff played an important role in securing the previous ceasefire agreement.

Question

President Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff played an important role in securing the previous ceasefire agreement. At crucial moments, Netanyahu has been receptive to Trump’s wishes; we saw that earlier this year, when Israel and Iran stepped back from the brink. As the White House has a defining role to play here, will the Foreign Secretary, with our allies, urge the US to apply its full weight to its leverage?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

I agree very much with my hon. Friend. The US of course has a key role to play in securing a lasting peace in the region. As the Foreign Secretary said yesterday, he has raised the issues directly with his American counterparts, as have the rest of the ministerial team.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions by US not detailed in response

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q7 Calum Miller Lib Dem Bicester and Woodstock
Foreign Affairs
Context

The Foreign Secretary previously described the Netanyahu Government’s aid blockade as a potential breach of international law, and recently stated that Gaza faces a man-made famine due to Israeli Government’s block on aid.

Question

One hundred and sixty-eight days ago, the Foreign Secretary described the Netanyahu Government’s aid blockade of Gaza as a “breach of international law”, before correcting himself to describe it as only risking a breach. Yesterday, the Foreign Secretary told the House that Gaza faces a “man-made famine” and that he was “outraged” by the Israeli Government’s block on aid, so do the Government now accept that Israel has breached international law?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

Yesterday, the Foreign Secretary set out the long-standing position of Ministers on such determinations. Under the previous Government, the threshold that this House set Governments was whether there was a real risk. We have applied ourselves to that test, and we have found that there is a real risk. Our actions from September onwards have flowed from that determination.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question specifically asked if the government now accepts that Israel has breached international law, but the answer only referred to the 'real risk' of such a breach without explicitly declaring it as a breach.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email