The British government is accelerating plans to evacuate up to 300 critically injured and ill Palestinian children from Gaza for free medical treatment on the NHS, officials confirmed on Sunday, as the humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged enclave reaches unprecedented levels.
The scheme, set to be announced within weeks, represents a significant shift in UK policy after months of pressure from MPs, medical professionals and humanitarian groups who criticised the government for failing to act whilst more than 50,000 children have been killed or injured since the war began in October 2023.
A government spokesperson said the UK was “working at pace” to implement the evacuations “as quickly as possible”, with children requiring urgent medical care to be brought to Britain for specialist treatment “where that is the best option for their care”.
Scheme Details Emerge
Under the scheme, reportedly set to be announced within weeks, more injured and sick children will be treated by specialists in the NHS “where that is the best option for their care. The Sunday Times reports that each child will be accompanied by a parent or guardian, with siblings included where necessary, whilst the Home Office conducts biometric and security checks before travel.
The government initiative will operate “in parallel” with Project Pure Hope, a British charity that has privately funded the evacuation of three Palestinian children to date through months of painstaking fundraising and negotiation.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper are believed to have orchestrated the new scheme, which follows sharp criticism of the government’s previous stance on medical evacuations.
Parliament’s Damning Assessment
The Committee also finds that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, its aid sites and its activities in Gaza must be dismantled immediately and replaced with a UN-led system. A Foreign Affairs Committee report published at the end of July delivered a scathing assessment of the UK’s response, stating the government had “declined to support a medical evacuation of critically injured children to the UK, involving coordinating travel permits, medical visas and safe transport.
The committee’s chair noted that “No one watching the images of the suffering of the Palestinians, or hearing the testimony of Israeli hostage families, can be anything other than profoundly moved and distressed by what has been happening and want their government to play its part in bringing about peace and justice”.
Following the report’s publication, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK was “urgently accelerating efforts” to evacuate children requiring critical medical assistance, acknowledging that whilst Britain had contributed millions in aid, “that help is not getting in.
First Evacuees Arrive
The government’s announcement comes as 15-year-old Majd al-Shagnobi became the third Palestinian child to arrive in the UK for treatment last week. The teenager, who lost his jaw and face in an Israeli tank shell explosion whilst trying to access humanitarian aid in February 2024, received a hero’s welcome at Heathrow Airport.
“I remember them putting me in the mortuary,” Majd said. “I managed to move my arm, though, and they realised I was still alive”. His mother, Islem Felfel, recalled that doctors initially thought his injuries were so severe he had died, with one hospital refusing to admit him.
Majd will undergo complex facial reconstructive surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital, with all costs covered by Project Pure Hope and medical staff volunteering their services free of charge.
Catastrophic Child Casualties
The evacuation scheme responds to what UNICEF has described as an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe affecting Gaza’s children. Since the end of the ceasefire on 18 March, 1,309 children have reportedly been killed and 3,738 injured. In total, more than 50,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured since October 2023.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council that “Over the past 21 months of war, more than 17,000 children have reportedly been killed and 33,000 injured in Gaza. An average of 28 children have been killed each day, the equivalent of an entire classroom”.
The agency has declared Gaza “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child”, with Palestinian children killed at a rate of more than one per hour during the conflict.
Private Initiative Leads the Way
Project Pure Hope, established by NHS clinicians, executives and humanitarian advocates, has pioneered the pathway for medical evacuations after 20 months of negotiations with UK and international authorities. The charity successfully brought two girls, 13-year-old Rama and five-year-old Ghena, to London in April for privately funded operations for life-threatening conditions.
Raza Halim, a founding member of Project Pure Hope, emphasised the urgency of government action: “The British public have made clear what their view is and the government is now catching up… We need action. We’re very grateful that the government has now finally approved the scheme for 30 children. But what we need now is pace and scale because we know that everyday there are 28 children dying from treatable diseases [in Gaza]”.
Omar Din, the charity’s co-founder, said the organisation had already secured necessary clearances from the World Health Organisation, Israeli authorities and the Jordanian government, meaning evacuations could begin immediately once government details are confirmed.
International Pressure Mounts
The UK’s decision follows increasing international condemnation of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Last month, More than two dozen countries have called for an immediate end to the war on Gaza, saying that suffering there had “reached new depths” in the latest sign of allies’ sharpening language as Israel’s international isolation deepens.
The joint statement from 25 nations, including traditional Israeli allies such as the UK, France, Australia and Canada, declared that “the war must end now” and condemned Israel’s aid delivery model as “dangerous” and depriving “Gazans of human dignity.
Britain has also partnered with Jordan to airdrop medical supplies and is working with Egypt to provide treatment for evacuated civilians, whilst pledging £1 million to help the World Health Organisation in Egypt provide medical support to evacuated Gazans.
Malnutrition Crisis Deepens
Beyond injuries from the conflict, Gaza’s children face a catastrophic malnutrition crisis. “Severe malnutrition is spreading among children faster than aid can reach them, and the world is watching it happen. Since April this year, the reported number of children who have died from malnutrition has jumped from 52 to 80 – a staggering 54 per cent increase in less than three months”, according to UNICEF’s regional director.
The Hamas-run health ministry reports that 175 people, including 93 children, have died from malnutrition since the conflict began, with infants and newborns particularly vulnerable to hypothermia in makeshift tents during winter months.
Political Implications
The evacuation scheme forms part of broader UK efforts to pressure Israel over the humanitarian crisis. Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated that Britain’s demands for Hamas to release all hostages and play no role in Gaza’s future governance are “absolute and unconditional”, whilst linking any UK recognition of a Palestinian state to immediate humanitarian improvements.
Sir Keir has indicated the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza”, including allowing more aid, stopping West Bank annexations, agreeing to a ceasefire and committing to a long-term peace process.
Around 100 MPs have signed a letter urging the government to fast-track the medical evacuation scheme. Labour MP Stella Creasy, who coordinated the letter, said: “The commitment we all share to help these children remains absolute and urgent – with every day, more are harmed or die, making the need to overcome any barriers to increasing the support we give them imperative”.
The Israel Defense Forces launched its campaign in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. More than 60,000 Palestinians have since been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry, in what international observers increasingly describe as a humanitarian catastrophe requiring urgent intervention.
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