UK Plans Expanded Medical Evacuation of Gazan Children

The UK government has announced it is moving swiftly to implement plans to evacuate seriously ill or injured children from Gaza to the UK for urgent medical treatment. According to sources, the initiative is expected to be operational within weeks.

While the exact number of children involved remains unclear, the Sunday Times reports that the government intends to allow up to 300 young patients to enter the UK to receive free medical care. This marks a significant escalation in the UK’s response, as no children have yet been evacuated under an official government scheme during the ongoing conflict.

Some Gazan children have already been brought to the UK for medical treatment through private efforts led by the charity Project Pure Hope. However, a government spokesperson clarified on Sunday that the official plan is to “evacuate children from Gaza who require urgent medical care,” adding that the government is “working at pace to do so as quickly as possible.”

The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF estimates that more than 50,000 children have been killed or injured since the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023.

A report published by the Foreign Affairs Committee at the end of July criticized the government for declining to support a medical evacuation program for critically injured Gazan children, which would involve coordinating travel permits, medical visas, and safe transport to the UK to provide specialized care unavailable in Gaza.

Following this report, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged that the UK was “urgently accelerating efforts” to evacuate children in critical need of medical assistance.

The proposed government scheme will require each child to be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and the Home Office will conduct biometric and security checks before travel. Project Pure Hope, a UK-based organization staffed by volunteer medical professionals, has so far privately facilitated the arrival of three children for treatment in the UK.

The most recent arrival, 15-year-old Majd al-Shagnobi, came to the UK last week for complex facial reconstructive surgery. Majd’s jaw was destroyed by an Israeli tank shell while he was attempting to access aid in Gaza in February 2024. He is the first Palestinian child to be flown to the UK for war-related medical care.

Majd’s evacuation was coordinated alongside the US NGO Kinder Relief, which has also helped facilitate medical treatment abroad for other Gazan children. His treatment, privately funded by Project Pure Hope, will be carried out at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London by a medical team volunteering their services.

Project Pure Hope has advocated for the government to establish a scheme akin to the one created for Ukrainian refugees and welcomed the new government initiative. The organization stated that it could offer its expertise from previous successful private evacuations to help ensure the UK’s response is swift and effective.

“Our blueprint can help ensure the UK acts quickly and effectively, so that every child who needs urgent care has the best chance of survival and recovery,” the charity said.

Earlier in the year, Project Pure Hope secured visas for two girls—13-year-old Rama and five-year-old Ghena—to travel to the UK for privately funded operations. Both had been evacuated to Egypt from Gaza prior to their journey.

Ghena underwent laser surgery to relieve pressure in her left eye, which was at risk of blindness, while Rama received exploratory surgery for a serious bowel condition. Their mothers report that both girls are recovering well.

Medical experts have warned for weeks about severe shortages of vital food and medical supplies in Gaza, exacerbated by Israel’s months-long blockade on all aid and goods into the territory. Although the blockade has been partially eased, humanitarian organizations continue to emphasize the urgent need for increased aid deliveries to prevent famine and worsening malnutrition.

The Hamas-run health ministry reports that 175 people, including 93 children, have died from malnutrition amid the ongoing blockade. Israel denies deliberately obstructing aid and accuses the UN and other aid agencies of failing to ensure delivery.

Since the war’s onset, the UK has provided funding for hospitals in the region to treat injured Gazans and collaborated with Jordan to airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza.

In a recent statement, Sir Keir Starmer warned that the UK would recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the announcement, claiming it “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism.”

The current conflict escalated after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. Since then, more than 60,000 people have died in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.