Tens of Gaza children to evacuate to UK 'in coming weeks'

The first group of critically ill and injured children in Gaza will be medically evacuated to the UK for treatment, as Israel's war has put thousands of Palestinian children at risk of imminent death.

The evacuation, reportedly coordinated by the Foreign Office, Home Office and Department of Health, is set to happen in the coming weeks, the BBC understands.

Some 30 to 50 children will be selected by the World Health Organisation, which has been coordinating evacuations from Gaza, and will be travelling with family members via a third country, where biometric data will be collected.

The Foreign Office confirmed to The New Arab that they have now launched a cross-government taskforce who are working at pace to pull a new scheme together.

"We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care in the UK for specialist treatment," a spokesperson for the Foreign Office told The New Arab.

"This is a sensitive and complex process, and the wellbeing of patients and their families is our top priority."

Officials say exact numbers will depend on clinical need and NHS capacity, while patients will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and will be brought to the UK if that is the best option for their care and it is appropriate to do so.

This comes after over 90 MPs called for the UK government to evacuate wounded Gazan children for treatment "without delay" as children in Gaza are at imminent risk of dying as malnutrition rates soar in the enclave.

Since October 2023, out of the thousands of Palestinian children waiting to be medically evacuated, only three have arrived in the UK for treatment, all of whom came through the charity Project Pure Hope with funding from private donors.

No children have been evacuated under a scheme run by the UK government, with most evacuees being treated in other countries, including Egypt and Italy.

Reports earlier in August revealed that the UK would be announcing plans to evacuate up to 300 Gazan children for treatment, as Starmer announced the UK is "urgently accelerating" efforts to treat children in critical need of treatment.

Israel continues to prevent life-saving humanitarian aid from entering the enclave, risking the lives of thousands of children in the enclave.

The UN revealed that 12,000 Palestinian children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition, and out of 260 Palestinians, 112 children have died from starvation and malnutrition since October 2023.

Israel’s war has killed and injured over 50,000 children since the start of Israel's onslaught.