Two sisters in Gaza. Rubble. Bricks. You think you know where this is going. You don't.

The Khaled sisters, engineers both, have developed a method to compress the pulverised concrete and twisted rebar of bombed buildings into interlocking bricks. Stronger than the originals, they claim. And fully reusable. No cement needed. A patent is pending.

UK charities are lining up to applaud. Oxfam, Save the Children, even the British Council have issued statements. The language is familiar: 'resilience', 'innovation in the face of adversity', 'a beacon of hope'. All true. But this is a political story, not a humanitarian one.

Here is the rub. The blockade. The blockade of Gaza means that even if every unused building in the Strip were ground down and remoulded, the sisters would still need raw materials. The bricks can only be made from existing rubble. They cannot create matter from nothing. And the blockade prevents the import of construction equipment, let alone new concrete.

So the question, my dear reader, is not whether this is a good idea. It is. The question is whether the international community, and the UK in particular, will use this innovation as a fig leaf or a lever.

A fig leaf: 'Look, they are rebuilding. The situation is not so dire.' That would be the path of least resistance. A quiet word in the ear of the Israeli ambassador. A small grant from the Department for International Development. Another photo op.

A lever: 'The blockade must end. These women need not just our praise but real access to materials and markets.' That would require courage. It would mean taking a side. It would mean risking the anger of both Israel and the United States.

I have spoken to a source at the Foreign Office, off the record. The official line is 'We support all efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.' The off-the-record line? 'We are watching this closely. It could be a game-changer, but only if the political conditions allow.'

Translation: The government is hedging. They will applaud the sisters, probably offer a small amount of technical assistance, and then wait to see how the wind blows.

The real game here is in the backbenches. Labour MPs, especially those with large Muslim constituencies, are already preparing questions. Conservative backbenchers with links to the Israeli embassy are drafting responses. Expect fireworks at Prime Minister's Questions next week.

And the sisters? They continue working. They have already produced 500 bricks. They aim for 10,000. They are not waiting for Whitehall. They are simply surviving, one brick at a time.

This is a story about innovation, yes. But it is also a story about power. About who gets to rebuild, and how. About whether the ruins of war can become the foundations of peace, or just more rubble.

I will be watching the Lobby. I suggest you do too.