On 18 November 2025, the Foreign Secretary updated MPs on Gaza and Sudan, following the UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2803 on 17 November and recent G7 discussions. The statement, published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, outlined the UK’s support for new international mechanisms and the specific actions the Government is taking to advance humanitarian relief and a political track.
On Gaza, the Government assesses that a ceasefire brokered by US President Trump with support from Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye has held for six weeks. According to the Foreign Secretary, twenty hostages have returned home and the remains of twenty‑five more have been repatriated to their families. Aid flows have improved from very low baselines but remain constrained, and Ministers argue that commitments made at Sharm el Sheikh must be fulfilled to reach a durable peace.
Resolution 2803 authorises the creation of an International Stabilisation Force for Gaza and sets out transitional arrangements including a Board of Peace and a Palestinian Committee. The text emphasises humanitarian assistance and reconstruction and sketches a pathway to Palestinian self‑determination and statehood. The Foreign Secretary said the resolution is supported by the Palestinian Authority and regional partners and is consistent with President Trump’s 20‑point plan.
Implementation pace is now the central test. The UK wants rapid deployment of the Stabilisation Force alongside trained Palestinian police to prevent a security vacuum that armed groups could exploit. London’s position is that transitional arrangements must be applied in line with international law, respect Palestinian sovereignty and self‑determination, help reconnect Gaza and the West Bank, and enable a reformed Palestinian Authority to resume governance in Gaza.
Humanitarian access is the binding constraint. The Foreign Secretary cited UKAid supplies waiting in Jordanian warehouses, including World Food Programme wheat sufficient for 700,000 people for one month, held up while the Jordan route remains closed. A further crossing at Zikim has partially reopened, but the UK is pressing for all land crossings-including Rafah with Egypt-to operate longer, consistent hours to scale up food, shelter, medical supplies and the restoration of basic public services ahead of winter.
Medical access is a specific priority. Ministers report that a Jordanian maternity and neonatal field hospital is ready to deploy but remains unable to enter Gaza. The Government’s position is that Israeli authorities should remove restrictions and uncertainty to enable entry of medical teams and guarantee predictable permissions for international NGOs to operate.
The UK is offering technical inputs to underpin the ceasefire. Drawing on Northern Ireland experience, officials are providing expertise on weapons decommissioning and ceasefire monitoring. The UK has committed £4 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service and is supporting a surge of British specialists from the HALO Trust and Mines Advisory Group. UK personnel are also embedded in a US‑led civil–military hub focused on Gaza stabilisation.
Stability in the West Bank is framed as essential to any sustainable settlement. The Government warns that the Palestinian Authority faces acute fiscal pressure linked to Israeli restrictions. It argues that banking arrangements between Israeli and Palestinian institutions should be extended, not curtailed. Ministers also point to continued illegal settlement expansion and incidents of settler violence during the olive harvest, describing the Israeli response as insufficient. Addressing both issues is presented as necessary to preserve a two‑state pathway, consistent with the UK’s decision to recognise the State of Palestine.
Within the first phase of the ceasefire, the UK wants Hamas to return the bodies of the remaining three hostages taken on 7 October so that families can complete burial rites. The Government argues that delivery on such commitments helps build confidence for subsequent phases of the agreement.
Turning to Sudan, the Foreign Secretary relayed the UN humanitarian leadership’s assessment of the country as the ‘epicentre of suffering’. Over 30 million people require lifesaving assistance and 12 million have been displaced. Reports from El Fasher following Rapid Support Forces advances include mass executions, starvation and the systematic use of rape, with satellite imagery indicating mass graves-described by OCHA as consistent with a crime scene.
The UK recalled that a year ago it tabled a Security Council resolution demanding humanitarian access and civilian protection, which was vetoed by Russia. In May 2025, London hosted a Sudan conference that mobilised around £800 million from partners, yet conditions have deteriorated, with North Kordofan under threat and fighting moving towards El Obeid. For 2025, the UK has allocated over £125 million for lifesaving support, including treatment for severe child malnutrition, water and medical supplies, and support for survivors of sexual violence.
Access is the overriding obstacle. The Government accuses the RSF of blocking safe passage around El Fasher and warns that new Sudanese Armed Forces restrictions risk compounding delays. The UK is pressing for a three‑month humanitarian truce to open aid corridors and for both parties to allow unhindered movement for relief workers, supplies and civilians. Ministers stress that aid alone cannot end a conflict driven by the belligerents and that any ceasefire must be anchored in a credible political process.
International coordination has intensified. At the Manama Dialogue in early November and the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Niagara the following week, the UK joined calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access. London is engaging with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United States-the ‘Quad’-who have urged a humanitarian truce and an end to external arms and support to the RSF. The Foreign Secretary endorsed recent remarks by US Secretary Rubio on halting such flows.
On accountability, the UK convened a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on 14 November at which a UK‑drafted resolution secured international consensus for an urgent UN inquiry into alleged crimes in El Fasher. The Foreign Secretary has instructed officials to develop potential UK sanctions designations for human rights violations and abuses in Sudan to support accountability and deterrence.
If UNSCR 2803 is implemented quickly, humanitarian operators should prepare for access arrangements linked to the Stabilisation Force and Palestinian policing, although delivery will still hinge on functioning border crossings and predictable deconfliction. Rapid scale‑up plans-particularly for medical deployments and shelter-should be ready to move once permissions are issued.
For policy and finance professionals, potential disruption to cross‑border banking in the West Bank would raise liquidity and payments risks for Palestinian institutions and suppliers, warranting contingency planning for payroll and import transactions. In Sudan, a truce could open limited corridors, but operational outlooks will depend on leverage over parties and external backers. Organisations with exposure should monitor potential UK sanctions and UNHRC investigative timelines closely.
The Government’s message to Parliament is that the UK will pair humanitarian support with security, governance and accountability tracks. Delivery now depends on the swift stand‑up of the Gaza stabilisation arrangements authorised on 17 November and on whether Sudan’s warring parties and their sponsors accept sustained pressure to enable access and move towards a negotiated ceasefire.