Humanitarian Aid: Gaza

Mr. Keith Simpson
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact of the recent violence in Gaza on the operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn
70 per cent. of Gaza’s population, around 1 million people, are registered as refugees and are eligible for support from the UNRWA. On 13 June the UNRWA suspended all operations in Gaza except for essential medical services and emergency food distributions. This followed the killing of two of its staff in intra-Palestinian violence. On 17 June, the UNRWA returned to full operations, but warned that its support programmes depended on regular humanitarian supplies through Gaza’s borders with Israel.