My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Douglas Alexander) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Yesterday, on the day of a long-awaited ceasefire, I announced an additional pledge of up to £20 million for humanitarian needs in Gaza, bringing the UK’s response to the crisis in Gaza to nearly £27 million.

These additional funds are already being spent. Yesterday evening, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Mike Foster, announced a contribution of £4 million to the International Committee for the Red Cross to carry out immediate work to save lives such as providing medical treatment to the injured. Today I am announcing £1 million to the World Food Programme to co-ordinate the relief items brought to Gaza by the UN and NGOs.

Despite the ceasefire, access for humanitarian agencies will continue to be a major challenge. We will need to do everything we can to ensure that humanitarian agencies have full and safe access to provide help to those who need it. The international community also needs to move quickly to carry out an urgent needs assessment so that the slow process of rebuilding Gaza can start. The UK Government will work closely with all its international partners in these efforts.

This £20 million is in addition to our Paris pledge of up to £243 million in aid to the Palestinian people over three years and the £6.8 million in humanitarian assistance to Gaza that I announced on 31 December.