Foreign Secretary to visit Al Arish to see first-hand the impact
of lifesaving UK aid to the people of Gaza.
UK supporting delivery of humanitarian land corridor from Jordan
into Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing, with 750 tonnes of
life-saving food aid arriving in the first delivery yesterday
(20th December).
Mark Bryson-Richardson announced as the Foreign Secretary’s
Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories, with a particular focus on the UK’s
humanitarian effort in Gaza.
The Foreign Secretary will see first-hand the impact of UK aid on
a visit to Al Arish, near the Egypt-Gaza border today (21
December), as the UK calls for significant more aid to reach
Gaza, through as many routes as possible.
will meet with
representatives from the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, who are
coordinating the relief effort at the Rafah crossing, and hear
how the UK’s contributions of shelter, blankets and other vital
equipment has been providing much needed relief to the people of
Gaza.
Together with international partners, the UK is increasing
efforts to get greater humanitarian aid into Gaza. The UK will
support United Nations World Food Programme to further enhance
the new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan through Kerem
Shalom.
The first direct World Food Programme aid convoy, made up of 46
trucks, travelled from Jordan to Gaza yesterday (20th December)
carrying over 750 tonnes of food aid. A £2 million contribution
from the UK will help to get further emergency food assistance to
those who need it most.
We continue to urge Israel to increase the flow of aid into Gaza
through Kerem Shalom and are exploring other routes to increase
aid reaching Gaza, including maritime options.
Foreign Secretary,
said:
The UK is committed to alleviating the suffering of people in
Gaza. We have already trebled our aid commitment to Palestinians
this year and the Prime Minister and I urged Israel at the
highest levels to open Kerem Shalom in order to get significantly
more aid into Gaza.
We need to use as many routes as possible to achieve this goal.
We have supported Jordan to deliver a new humanitarian land
corridor from Jordan into Gaza and continue to call for
significantly more aid to be allowed into Gaza through Kerem
Shalom.
I am delighted to appoint Mark Bryson-Richardson as the UK’s
Humanitarian Representative. He is a highly skilled diplomat
official with extensive experience working in the region and will
drive forward this vital work.
The UK is stepping up its commitment for greater humanitarian aid
and fuel to reach civilians in Gaza by appointing Mark
Bryson-Richardson as the Foreign Secretary’s Representative for
Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Mark is a former UK Ambassador to Iraq and previously headed the
Department for International Development’s Middle East and North
Africa Directorate and the cross-Government Stabilisation Unit.
So far, the UK has announced it will spend almost £60 million in
additional humanitarian funding in Gaza, trebling our existing
annual budget to the OPTs. UK aid will make a huge difference on
the ground in Gaza, for example we will be providing coverage
kits which are temporary shelters including plastic sheeting and
blankets that are desperately needed in the harsh winter weather.
The UK continues to reiterate the urgent need for more
humanitarian pauses and sustained access for more aid and fuel to
reach civilians in need.
The most recent package of £30m funding, announced by the Foreign
Secretary on his last visit to the region, has been allocated to
trusted partners on the ground. This includes UNRWA, UNICEF, the
OCHA Pooled Fund and the British Red Cross to support the
Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies, who are
providing vital food, shelter and medical supplies.
