Severely ill Gazan children arrive in Britain for treatment
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A doctor checks Jana Ayad, a malnourished Palestinian girl, at a field hospital in southern Gaza.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – A first group of severely ill children from Gaza have arrived in Britain under a scheme allowing them to receive urgent treatment, the British government said on Sept 17.
A cross-government task force has spent weeks coordinating the “complex humanitarian operation” to evacuate the children and their immediate families for specialist care under the state-run National Health Service (NHS), it added.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it supported the medical evacuations of 10 “critical” children from Gaza to Britain, alongside 50 of their companions.
It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in July his government would launch the scheme for an unspecified number of children hit by the war.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Sept 17 that Gaza’s healthcare system has been “decimated”
She added that the children’s arrival “reflects our determined commitment to humanitarian action and the power of international cooperation”.
“We continue to call for the protection of medical infrastructure and health workers in Gaza, and for a huge increase in medicines and supplies to be allowed in,” she said.
The evacuees were first taken to Jordan, where they were supported by British Embassy staff and underwent security checks.
The WHO and Jordanian government supported Britain with the transits, alongside a British emergency medical team and NHS clinical staff.
London has not confirmed how many children have arrived but said more youngsters and their immediate families are expected in the coming weeks.
The government will not provide operational details about their treatment or whereabouts, citing patient confidentiality.
A small number of injured Gazan children have already been sent to Britain under a private programme, Project Pure Hope.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it was “a soul-destroying situation that compels us to act”.
“These young patients have witnessed horrors no child should ever see but this marks the start of their journey towards recovery,” he added.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’ October 2023
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 64,964 people, also mostly civilians. AFP
