Over 100 children suffering from life-threatening injuries or illnesses in Gaza could soon receive medical treatment in the UK, following a new government initiative aimed at providing care for those in greatest need.
Announced on Sunday, the scheme will see critically ill children evacuated from Gaza to the UK to receive treatment through the NHS.
Full details are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks but campaigners have urged the government to act now.
“We have previously had children on the list but because approval takes so long, some of those children have ended up dying,” said Omar Din, a co-founder of Project Pure Hope (PPH) and a healthcare executive in NHS primary care. “The government needs to move at pace.”
“It’s not too late in the sense that there are people who can still be helped, there are many children,” Din said. But he added: “We should have done this much sooner.”
A government spokesperson confirmed the plans, saying: “We are taking forward plans to evacuate more 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.
“We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course.”
According to Unicef, over 50,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza since the conflict between Hamas and Israel escalated in October 2023. Labour leader Keir Starmer recently said the UK was “urgently accelerating” its efforts to bring wounded children over for treatment.
The new government-led effort will run alongside Project Pure Hope’s operations, which have already resulted in successful evacuations for medical care.
Among the children helped by the charity is 15-year-old Majd al-Shagnobi, who was the first child from Gaza to be transferred to the UK for treatment of war injuries. He suffered devastating facial injuries when an Israeli tank shell struck while he was trying to reach humanitarian aid in February last year. Majd is undergoing complex reconstructive surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital, with his care funded by the charity and medical staff volunteering their time.
Mounting pressure has played a role in the government’s move. More than 100 MPs recently signed a letter, organised by Labour MP Stella Creasy, urging ministers to bring 30 critically ill children from Gaza to the UK for treatment.