David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of food, fuel and medical supplies entering Gaza each day.

Mr Alan Duncan

Israeli movement and access restrictions, exacerbated by the closure of illegal smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, have led to serious shortages of fuel and medical supplies and have driven up the price of food. 71% of households in Gaza are either food insecure or vulnerable to food insecurity. The World Health Organisation estimates that 29% of drugs are at zero stock (less than one month’s supply). Due to severe shortages of fuel, Gaza’s power plant operates at half its capacity, triggering power outages of up to 12 hours per day and sometimes shutting down completely.