To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will send a Minister from his Department to Gaza to assess the humanitarian situation there; and if he will make a statement. (314072)

There are no immediate plans for a Minister from the Department for International Development (DFID) to visit Gaza. Officials from DFID regularly visit Gaza to assess the humanitarian situation. We also maintain close and regular contact with UN agencies and NGOs who are active in Gaza in order to contribute to our assessment of the situation.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2010, Official Report, column 467W, on Palestinians: overseas aid, for how long he was in Gaza on 1 March 2009; and if he will make a statement. (314075)

The Secretary of State for International Development spent around three hours in Gaza, where he visited a number of locations which had been damaged during the conflict.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Government of Egypt and (b) Palestinian authorities on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and if he will make a statement. (313435)

The Department for International Development (DFID) has not had any recent discussions with the Government of Egypt regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. We believe Israel continues to have obligations as an occupying power with respect to Gaza, and that the main responsibility for ensuring humanitarian access to Gaza therefore lies with Israel rather than Egypt.

In mid-January, DFID's director responsible for the Middle East discussed the issue of support for Gaza with Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Fayyad and with the PA Minister for Planning and Development. DFID's office in Jerusalem also participates in regular meetings of the Humanitarian Task Force, in which the delivery of humanitarian aid to both Gaza and the West Bank is discussed between the UN, donors and the PA.