International Development Minister Lord Bates asserted that Hamas’s pursuit of violence at the expense of the civilian population “lies at the heart of” the humanitarian situation in Gaza, in response to a question in the House of Lords.
Lord Anderson asked the Minister: “The situation in Gaza is indeed dire, particularly for children, and this is due not only to Hamas. Do the Government at least recognise that on the latest WHO figures, albeit they are a little dated, over 4,000 Gazans have been received in hospitals in Israel and well over 90% of applicants from Palestine as a whole are accepted by Israel? Would it not be better if Gaza were to seek to build bridges rather than tunnels to Israel?”
Lord Bates said in his response: “That lies at the heart of this situation. There will be no relief for the people in Gaza, who are suffering so terribly, until there is a political solution and an easing of the tensions, and those should be based on mutually recognised rights to exist. That has to be the only way forward and the noble Lord is right to point to it as we try to apply these urgent humanitarian responses. There needs to be a longer-term political solution”.
Click here to read the full exchange.
