Between 30 and 50 critically ill youngsters will be evacuated in coming weeks as MPs demand government acts ‘without delay’
Dozens of critically ill and injured Palestinian children will be evacuated from Gaza to Britain for medical treatment in the coming weeks, marking the first government-coordinated operation since Israel’s military offensive began nearly two years ago.
Between 30 and 50 children will be brought to the UK for NHS treatment as part of an emergency programme being coordinated by the Foreign Office, Home Office and Department of Health, the BBC understands. The evacuations come after mounting pressure from MPs who warned children face “imminent death” in Gaza’s devastated healthcare system.
The children will be selected according to medical need by doctors working for the Hamas-run health ministry, before the World Health Organization coordinates their travel to Britain via a third country where biometric data will be collected.
A cross-party group of 96 MPs last week wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, warning that conditions in Gaza are “worsening by the minute” and demanding action “without delay.
The healthcare system in the Gaza Strip has been decimated,” the letter stated, citing World Health Organization estimates that 14,800 Palestinians are “in urgent need of medical evacuation – including children at immediate risk of death from trauma injuries and severe pre-existing conditions, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Dr Simon Opher, the Labour MP and GP who coordinated the letter, said essential infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed and that a “blockade” of food, water and medical supplies had led to a medical and humanitarian catastrophe of “horrific proportions”.
The MPs demanded that medical evacuations be determined “solely based on clinical necessity and individual case assessment, without regard to financial implications, political considerations or reputational interests.” They also called for adequate government funding rather than relying on private donations.
More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, according to the UN children’s agency UNICEF. The UN has warned of widespread malnutrition, with experts stating in a report last month that the “worst-case scenario” of famine is unfolding in the enclave.
Sick children will travel from hospital with family members via a third country, where biometric data will be collected. It remains unclear which country will serve as the transit point, though sources suggest it could be Egypt or Jordan, both of which have existing medical evacuation arrangements.
Given the challenges of returning children to Gaza after treatment, it is understood some may enter the UK asylum system upon completing their medical care. The MPs’ letter specifically addressed this issue, urging ministers to clarify the legal status of evacuees and their rights to remain in Britain.
“The requirement for biometrics as a prerequisite to issue visas remains a major barrier, given that the only authorised biometrics centre in Gaza closed in October 2023,” the MPs warned, urging the government to waive these requirements and permit applications to be completed after departure from Gaza.
A government spokesperson said: “We are accelerating plans to evacuate children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care – with a cross-government taskforce working urgently to pull a new scheme together.
The announcement follows criticism that Britain has lagged behind other nations in providing medical assistance to Palestinian children. Italy has transferred more than 180 adults and children from Gaza for treatment, whilst Spain, France, Malta, Belgium and the United States have all accepted patients.
Until now, only two Palestinian girls – Rama, 12, and Ghena, 5 – have received medical treatment in the UK through private charity Project Pure Hope. Their care was funded entirely by donations, with no cost to the NHS or British taxpayers.
Liz Harding of Médecins Sans Frontières UK welcomed the MPs’ intervention, calling on the government to “urgently act on its commitment by creating a dedicated, publicly funded pathway based on clinical need, not bureaucracy.”
The medical evacuations face significant logistical challenges. Israel’s military body COGAT must approve each patient’s exit from Gaza, a process aid groups describe as increasingly difficult. The UN’s Office for Humanitarian Affairs reported that Israel approved only two major evacuations between May and July, despite a waiting list of 2,150 patients needing immediate life-saving care.
Dr Mohammed Zaqout, head of Gaza’s hospitals, said over 25,000 patients require treatment abroad, including 980 children with cancer, a quarter of whom need “urgent and immediate evacuation.” He described current evacuation numbers as “a drop in the ocean.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney criticised Westminster for not acting sooner, noting he had written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on 9 July urging support for UNICEF’s call to provide medical care for Gazan children.
The UK has provided funds for injured Gazans to be treated in regional hospitals and has worked with Jordan to airdrop aid into the territory. However, aid groups say these efforts fall far short of addressing the scale of the humanitarian crisis.
Israel launched its military operation in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel has insisted there are no restrictions on aid deliveries into Gaza and has accused the UN and other aid agencies of failing to distribute it effectively. The Israeli government maintains its forces target only militants and never civilians, claiming Hamas is responsible for civilian suffering in Gaza.
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Image Credit (Shortened):
A girl walks inside Gaza during the Gaza–Israel war to get food (25 Aug 2024) – by Jaber Jehad Badwan, licensed under CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
