MP calls for immediate humanitarian assistance for Gaza

Martyn Day, SNP MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, has initiated a petition urging the UK government to restart funding to the main relief agency, the UNRWA, in Gaza.

It follows the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announcement in January that it was stopping aid to the UNRWA while it “reviewed” Israeli allegations that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 staff had been involved in the October 7 attack.

The petition highlights that the UNRWA has warned that not enough aid is entering the besieged Gaza strip, and that a quarter of the Gazan population has been determined as an IPC Stage 5 crisis, which means that they are under immediate threat of death from starvation and destitution.

The petition notes that the UNRWA operates in the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan as well as Gaza, and the UK government punishing civilians in these places by pausing funding will have significant humanitarian repercussions.

Martyn Day MP has called for the UK government to restart funding to the UNRWA.

The petitioners argue that that UK Government must reallocate funding to the UNRWA to ensure the immediate deliverance of humanitarian assistance to address the adverse threat to life of Palestinians.

Mr Day said: “Whilst the allegations against the 12 employees of the UNRWA are serious and must be investigated thoroughly, my constituents have been deeply troubled by the scenes emerging from Gaza, where unprecedented levels of human suffering have been witnessed.

“Tens of thousands of innocent women, children and civilians have already been killed, and a quarter of Gazans are at risk of death from starvation and destitution. Humanitarian aid is now beyond critical.

“I think it’s worth pointing out that the petition was prepared prior to Israel’s refusal to allow UNRWA aid into the north—effectively a death sentence for many.”