National defence and international development go hand in hand. They are two sides of the same coin. Shadow and light. Yin and yang. Choose your idiom, but repeated studies have proved how one benefits the other.

This is something governments used to understand. But with the Trump administration gutting USAID and our Government here cutting our overseas investments, a new world order is forming, one that threatens to leave the developing world behind.

Back in the nineties, I spent several years in the former Yugoslavia covering the Balkan War for Reuters. I saw first-hand the devastation war had wreaked on the country and its citizens. Buildings crumbled. Communities shattered. People trying to rebuild their lives amid the rubble.

After the war ended, the EU estimated rebuilding the Balkans would cost $30bn. That pales in comparison to the $53bn figure currently being suggested for Gaza. Less than 18 months after the war began, Gaza is in ruins, with at least 60% of the buildings damaged.

A serious rebuild operation is needed, but what are world leaders doing? On one side of the Atlantic, Trump is posting videos so putrid they don’t deserve further consideration, and on the other, our Prime Minister is redirecting our foreign aid towards defence spending.

Given the turmoil in Ukraine, this is somewhat understandable. But, as the outgoing International Development Minister pointed out in her resignation letter, given the depth of the Prime Minister’s cuts, it’s going to be impossible for the UK to maintain its development commitments for Gaza.

On the back of this, last week, I asked the Government a very simple question: do they agree with the former Minister’s assessment? The response I received was interesting to say the least.

While the Government accepted the catastrophic status quo in Gaza, they couldn’t say if the funding cut would worsen the situation until they finished a comprehensive spending review.

It’s a shame I couldn’t respond to this point as I would’ve said this: Gaza cannot afford to wait. That is the brutal truth. According to the UN Humanitarian Chief, Gaza just avoided widespread famine, but the risk remains if the ceasefire doesn’t hold.

The first stage of the ceasefire has concluded. There are talks about extending it or moving onto the second phase. In the second phase, a permanent ceasefire must be established, and with it comes the question: what happens next in Gaza?

This is a question we should be involved in answering. But I fear that with these aid cuts we are signalling a retreat from our responsibilities as a major world economy. While foreign aid is sometimes a bone of contention, it is undeniable that it contributes to a safer world and supports those living in poverty, with disease, or facing persecution or war. Among other things, it has a direct impact on the number of people fleeing and seeking asylum elsewhere.

This is something I know many of you believe. Totnes Friends of Palestine has done amazing campaigning work since the Gaza war began and I was proud to highlight their fundraising efforts in my question to the Government last week. I only wish the context in which I was talking about it was better.