Melanie Ward

Melanie Ward

Labour — Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy

Speaking in the House of Commons on 10 September 2025

Debate

Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access

Contribution

My hon. Friend knows exactly what she is talking about. I agree completely, and I ask her to convey our solidarity to the Palestine director of the World Food Programme when they meet shortly. To state the obvious: to alleviate the suffering of a population in humanitarian need, aid workers need to be able to reach them. Too often across the world today we see aid workers being restricted from reaching people in need, something that is in violation of the laws of war. Gaza is ground zero for that. We are all familiar with the barriers that Israel has put in place to stop aid entering Gaza. Indeed, the shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel), has said that creative solutions, such as floating piers, are needed to get aid into Gaza. We also know that aid drops are deeply flawed. However, the solution to getting aid into Gaza is simple—Israel must open the gates and let it in.

More from Melanie Ward

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

For Melanie Ward's full parliamentary record including voting history, expenses and all other contributions, see the Melanie Ward report card.