UK pledges £6m aid for Gaza as tensions rise between Israel and Lebanon

The UK has pledged a package of food, water, health, education and wellbeing support for Gazans. Credit: AP

The UK has pledged £6 million towards aid in Gaza as the International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds calls for peace in the Middle East.

During her visit to Jordan on Wednesday, Dodds announced the UK's most recent aid package, which will include food, water, health, education and wellbeing support for Gazans.

She will also visit a World Food Programme depot, which plays a key role in the delivery of aid to Gaza.

International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds calls for peace in the Middle East during her visit. Credit: PA

Dodds is visiting Jordan to meet ministers and discuss how the UK and its ally can work together on brokering a peace deal in the Israel-Hamas conflict, as well as quelling other regional tensions.

Israel has been exchanging rocket fire along its northern border with Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, sparking fears the conflict could escalate.

During her visit, Dodds repeated calls for British nationals to leave Lebanon due to rising risks associated with the ongoing conflict between Israel, Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors in Lebanon.

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept an attack from Lebanon. Credit: AP

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the UK stands “ready and prepared” should tensions heighten.

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Last month, the UK government restarted funding for the UN aid agency UNRWA in Gaza, pledging £21 million.

UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza and provides healthcare, education and humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Lammy announced that UK aid to Gaza is a "moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe".

As she embarked on her visit, Dodds said: “Now is the time for calm, if we are to achieve lasting peace and stability in the Middle East. It is in no one’s interests for tensions to escalate and spread across the wider region.”

"I am grateful to the Jordanian Government for supporting UK efforts to get aid to those in such desperate need," she added.

The minister added: “We are seeing the humanitarian impact of conflict on Gazans. This new UK support will provide a lifeline for vulnerable families, giving them access to basic food and water during a desperate time.”

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas’ October 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and abducted around 250.

Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 39,600 people in Gaza and wounded more than 91,000 at the time of writing, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

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