Mark welcomed the Government’s announcement of a further £20 million to help rebuild Gaza and to provide humanitarian assistance, which he said would be crucial to help provide food, water, shelter and medical supplies for ordinary Palestinians.

Mark stated:

“People in Edinburgh and Leith have been appalled by the violence and suffering they have witnessed on their TV screens during the last three weeks. It is vital that the ceasefire holds, so that the UN can use this latest funding from the British Government. Fuel is desperately needed for power stations so that hospitals can function again, peoples homes can be heated and lit, and access to safe water can be re-established.”

Around 100,000 people have left their homes and over 50,000 people have taken refuge in UN emergency shelters. At present

• most households are without power
• half a million people have no running water
• food stocks are low as the majority of mills and bakeries have stopped working
• a number of ambulances and health facilities have been damaged by shelling and almost half of the Primary Health Care centres are closed.

International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, said:

"An enduring ceasefire is crucial to allow us to get vital aid in to thousands of people who desperately need it. The humanitarian situation will be dire for some time to come. UN and non-governmental aid agencies are doing heroic work under extremely difficult conditions and we want to support their efforts further. This additional funding will help the United Nations, aid agencies and other humanitarian organisations working in Gaza to rebuild the lives of 1.4 million people who have suffered in the conflict."

Preparations are underway for several UK Government funded humanitarian flights to leave this week. The additional £20 million contribution will be used to allocate funds to emerging humanitarian priorities, making them available to UN agencies and non-governmental organisations working in Gaza.This £20m is in addition to the £6.8 million announced on 31 December to support the UK Department for International Development’s (DFID) strategy to address humanitarian needs in Gaza.

If you want to find out more about the longer-term objectives of DFID's aid to the Occupied Territories as well as the assistance provided since the start of the recent crisis, you can download the Department's Newsletter on UK Aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories February 09 by clicking here.