To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with aid agencies on the Rafah crossing border with Egypt.

The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We are are working to get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air, funding multiple implementing partners including UN agencies and international and UK NGOs.

There is ongoing ministerial engagement with partners. The Foreign Secretary has also appointed a Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.

The Foreign Secretary has discussed the urgency of getting significantly more aid into Gaza with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He reiterated the need for Israel to open more crossing points into Gaza, for Nitzana and Kerem Shalom to be open for longer, and for Israel to support the UN to distribute aid effectively across the whole of Gaza.