Government response

Foreign Secretary statement on aid to Gaza

David Lammy's statement on aid to Gaza, on eve of government commitment to aid match DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal.

The UK government is matching donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Middle East Humanitarian Appeal. DEC charities are responding in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, providing lifesaving food, water, shelter and medicine. Donate to the Appeal

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

The humanitarian situation in Northern Gaza is dire, with access to basic services worsening and the UN reporting that barely any food has entered in the last 2 weeks.

Israel must ensure civilians are protected and ensure routes are open to allow life-saving aid through. Along with our French and Algerian counterparts, we have called an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council today to address this.

While the conflict continues, all parties are bound by international humanitarian law. Reflecting our concerns – the UK made the difficult decision last month to suspend export licences to Israel that could be used in military operations in Gaza. This does not change our steadfast support for Israel’s security.

Along with our international partners, we continue to call for an immediate ceasefire, to allow more humanitarian aid to get in and get the remaining hostages out.

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Updates to this page

Published 16 October 2024
Last updated 17 October 2024 + show all updates
  1. Added DEC Appeal link to Middle East Humanitarian Appeal.

  2. First published.