PRESS RELEASE : UK Development Minister arrives in Egypt in push for more critical lifesaving aid for Gaza [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 November 2023.

UK Development Minister Andrew Mitchell is in Cairo for talks with Egyptian counterparts and trusted partners, to get further aid into Gaza as quickly as possible.

• UK Development Minister Andrew Mitchell is in Cairo today (15 November) to hold talks with Egyptian counterparts and trusted partners
• he will push to get further lifesaving aid into Gaza as quickly as possible, through as many routes as possible
• the UK recently allocated £30 million in additional humanitarian aid to organisations doing lifesaving work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell is in Cairo today for discussions on how to get significantly more aid into Gaza.

The Minister will discuss how to enact humanitarian pauses in the fighting as soon as possible so that aid, including fuel, can be delivered for hospitals and other needs and hostages can be released.

Minister Mitchell will also meet with the Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS), the agency responsible for shipment of humanitarian goods across the Rafah border, as well as the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Egypt, Elena Panova, and OCHA.

UK Development Minister, Andrew Mitchell, said:

I thank Egypt for their sustained diplomatic efforts to get more lifesaving aid into Gaza as quickly as possible.

The UK has more than doubled our aid commitment to the Palestinian people this year and we call on all parties to allow the humanitarian pauses necessary to ensure this aid reaches those in need in Gaza.

The UK recently allocated £30 million in additional aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories – more than doubling the existing aid commitment for this year (£27 million).

This will allow trusted partners, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and others, to provide Palestinians with essential humanitarian relief items and services such as food, water and shelter.

Three UK flights have already landed in Egypt carrying over 51 tonnes of aid since the crisis began, including lifesaving items such as wound care packs, water filters and solar powered lights.

The government has so far ensured over 150 British nationals and their dependants have safely left Gaza and the FCDO is using all channels available to it ensure any remaining registered British nationals are able to cross the Rafah border as soon as is possible. Royal Navy vessels are in the Middle East to deter further escalation.

The government continues to call on all parties to allow the humanitarian pauses necessary to allow more aid of this kind to enter Gaza. The Prime Minister has been clear that Israel’s forces must act within international law and stop extremist violence in the West Bank.

This visit to Egypt follows the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Japan last week. Partners including the UK agreed in the meeting on the need for humanitarian pauses to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and the release of hostages.

During the Prime Minister’s recent visit to the region, he again reiterated his support a two-state solution to provide justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.