Edinburgh MP Tracy Gilbert calls on Israel to allow free flow of aid to Gaza after visiting Middle East
‘I have seen hundreds of boxes of baby formula and medication sitting in warehouses while people, just a few miles away, are in desperate need’ - Tracy Gilbert MP
Edinburgh North & Leith Labour MP Tracy Gilbert has called on Israel to allow aid to flow freely to Gaza after visiting the Middle East and seeing vital supplies waiting in warehouses.
Ms Gilbert was in Jordan as part of a delegation from the House of Commons international development committee to meet senior representatives of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
UNRWA officials told the delegation that restrictions on aid deliveries were contributing to severe shortages of food, clean water, medical supplies and shelter.
Ms Gilbert and fellow MP Sarah Champion also visited the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), which operates a warehouse storing humanitarian aid from a range of organisations, including the UK Government and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).
In the warehouse, the MPs saw large quantities of food, baby formula and medical supplies, including prosthetics, ready for delivery to Gaza, but were told much of the aid remains unable to reach those in need.
Ms Gilbert said 150 truckloads should be going from Jordan into Gaza everyday, but at the moment hardly any was going across.
She said: “Gaza is facing catastrophic conditions, and the international community has a responsibility to ensure that relief reaches those who need it most.
“Sadly, after briefings on the ground in Jordan this week it only served to reinforce my concerns about the lack of access and progress made since the peace plan had been agreed.
“The aid is there; however, it is not being made available. I have seen hundreds of boxes of baby formula and medication sitting in warehouses while people, just a few miles away, are in desperate need.
“No prosthetics have entered Gaza in the past year, despite thousands of people in need, with supplies ready to go.
“Among the supplies stored in the warehouses was aid funded directly by the UK Government, as well as assistance provided by UK charities through the generous donations of people across Edinburgh and the wider UK.”
Although a ceasefire agreement came into effect in October 2025, humanitarian organisations continue to warn that severe restrictions on aid and medical supplies mean many Palestinians in Gaza remain unable to access the support they urgently need.
Ms Gilbert said: “Eight months on from the Gaza Peace Plan there has been little improvement for people struggling to survive in Gaza. I am calling on the Israeli government to end the delays and allow the vital aid sitting on its borders to flow freely into Gaza.”
In a statement to the Commons earlier this week, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that less than half of the aid promised in the 20-point peace plan agreed in October is entering Gaza.
She said: “There are families without shelter and a public health crisis, with rodent infestations and communicable disease, and we are currently at barely half the level of the 4,200 trucks a week promised in the 20-point plan.”