Thousands of tons in aid sits in depots here... let it flow into Gaza - FOREIGN SECRETARY TO ISRAELI LEADERSHIP

STARING out over the Jordanian hills towards Palestine, Yvette Cooper was deeply frustrated.

- LIZZY BUCHAN

Warehouses stuffed full of lifesaving aid stand less than 40 miles from the West Bank border, and beyond it, the road to Gaza.

Despite the ceasefire deal, Israeli restrictions mean thousands of tons of food, tents, and other kit are sitting in depots, rather than being piled into lorries to help desperate Gazans.

To the west of Amman, Jordan's capital, is the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge a key border crossing into the West Bank, the larger of the two Palestinian territories.

But it has been closed off to aid lorries ever since September after two Israeli soldiers were killed near the crossing.

I have spent the past four days travelling through the Middle East with the Foreign Secretary, at a pivotal moment for the peace process after two years of deadly conflict.

FAMINE

The trip began in Bahrain, an island state on the Persian Gulf, where Ms Cooper attended a security summit and held talks with power players from across the Middle East.

She then travelled to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia another influential force in the region for more crucial meetings.

The desperate situation in Gaza was top of the agenda. How to turn a fragile ceasefire into a lasting peace and the restrictions on aid into the war-ravaged enclave were weighing heavily on the Foreign Secretary's mind.