Urgently fulfil humanitarian obligations to Gaza

Act to ensure deliverer of fuel, food, aid, life saving services etc. We think this shouldn't be dependant/on condition of Israeli facilitation as the Knesset voted against UNWRA access to Gaza. We think if military delivery of aid, airdrops, peacekeepers etc, are needed, then all be considered.

Israel does not agree to ceasefire and does not permit UNWRA access. We think the UK must find alternative means to deliver aid. We believe this must done urgently with urgent deadlines, with or without Israeli support.

On 29 July, the IPC issued an alert warning that the worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding. The humanitarian situation is appalling – starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving hunger-related deaths. All routes to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza are controlled by and must be approved by the Government of Israel. The UK has taken steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation through our advocacy and funding the humanitarian response, as well as supporting air drops and preparing for medical evacuations of children.

Israel has now agreed to impose 10-hour “tactical pauses” and ease restrictions on aid though we are yet to see a real change on the ground. However, the UK is pressing for permanent change to enable the UN and humanitarian partners (including NGOs) to deliver life-saving aid, safely and at-scale. The UN and humanitarian partners have the systems and expertise to deliver aid – they must be enabled to deliver aid safely and at-scale. Israel must work with the UN, and all partners to continue to facilitate a surge of aid into Gaza. Fully re-instating commercial deliveries will be key to sustaining the flow of aid.

The UK has also taken immediate steps to help alleviate the humanitarian situation, including air drops of humanitarian supplies along with Jordan and preparing to get injured children out of Gaza and into British hospitals. Throughout the conflict, the UK has collaborated with regional partners on alternative routes for aid to get into Gaza, including air drops and a maritime corridor. However, we are clear that these cannot substitute delivery by land, which remains the best way to get aid in at the scale required. This FY (25/26), the UK has announced £101m funding for the OPTs, including £60m for humanitarian assistance, £20m of which is for UNRWA.

On 21 July, the UK signed a joint statement with 31 partners that warned the suffering of Gazans had reached new depths, pressing for immediate lifting of restrictions on the flow of aid and calling for the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life-saving work safely and effectively. On 19 May, the UK signed a joint donor statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza calling for a full resumption of aid and for Israel to allow the UN and other aid organisations to operate independently.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office