First group of critically ill Palestinian children evacuated from Gaza to UK, says Cooper

The first group of critically ill and injured Palestinian children designated to receive treatment on the National Health Service have left Gaza and are expected to arrive in the United Kingdom in the coming days, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

Cooper confirmed the evacuation in an interview with the Daily Mirror, and a Foreign Office source told the BBC the report was correct. British officials said the operation is being co-ordinated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Home Office and the Department of Health. The BBC understands the initial group contains between 30 and 50 children, each of whom may be accompanied by family members if required.

Cooper described the effort as "a lot of diplomatic work" to get the children out of Gaza and said the government was "determined to make sure that we can do our bit to help those injured families and also to help students get into their courses this autumn." The UK is also working to evacuate students who hold places at British universities, officials said.

Until now, individual Gazan children have been brought to the UK for treatment through privately organised efforts such as Project Pure Hope; this is the first evacuation of patients carried out under a government-led scheme since the conflict escalated last year.

The evacuations come amid mounting international concern over humanitarian conditions in Gaza. UN-backed global food-security experts declared a famine in Gaza City on Aug. 22, and the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has reported that at least 142 people across the territory have died from starvation and malnutrition since that declaration. The ministry also said 47 bodies killed by the Israeli military arrived at its hospitals over one recent 24-hour period.

The World Health Organization earlier this year said Israel's offensive had stretched Gaza's health system "beyond breaking point." Israel has said it is expanding efforts to facilitate aid deliveries and has disputed Gaza health ministry figures related to malnutrition and deaths.

The current offensive was launched by Israel in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Since then, the Gaza health ministry reports that at least 64,803 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the territory.

British officials did not immediately provide a precise timetable for the children's arrival or detailed medical arrangements for care once they land in the UK. Hospital placements and post-arrival logistics are being managed by health and local authorities in co-ordination with the government, officials said.

Humanitarian groups and some private organisations have urged rapid and safe passage for patients and medical evacuations throughout the conflict. The UK government said the evacuation of children and students represents part of wider efforts to provide medical assistance and educational support for Palestinians affected by the fighting.

Further details about the identities of the children, the hospitals designated to provide treatment and the number of accompanying family members were not released for privacy and security reasons.

The Foreign Office source and Cooper's comments to the Mirror and the BBC mark the first public confirmation that a government-arranged medical evacuation of Gazan children is under way, as officials continue to coordinate diplomatic and logistical steps to bring patients and some students to the UK.