Ten seriously ill children from Gaza arrive in UK for NHS treatment

Ten severely ill children from Gaza have arrived in the United Kingdom for urgent specialist treatment through the National Health Service, the government confirmed, marking the first evacuations under a newly coordinated scheme.

The World Health Organization said the children were medically evacuated alongside 50 companions. British officials said the youngsters and their immediate families were moved from Gaza to Jordan, where British Embassy staff assisted and security checks were completed before their transfer to the UK. Two critically ill children and their families arrived in Scotland on Monday, and more children are expected in the coming weeks as part of the operation organized by the Foreign Office, Home Office and Department of Health.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Gaza health system had been “decimated and hospitals are no longer functioning,” and called for the protection of medical infrastructure and health workers as well as “a huge increase in medicines and supplies” to be allowed into the territory. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the evacuations offered the children a chance to recover, adding: “Every child deserves the chance to heal, to play, to simply be able to dream again. These young patients have witnessed horrors no child should ever see, but this marks the start of their journey towards recovery.”

British officials said the government was working to ensure families received appropriate support during their stay, and that the operation also aims to evacuate students who have been offered places at British universities.

The evacuations differ from earlier private efforts. Some children from Gaza have previously been brought to the UK for care through humanitarian initiatives such as Project Pure Hope, but the government had not until now carried out evacuations through a formal government scheme during the conflict.

The UK effort follows a broader international concern over the state of health services in Gaza. United Nations-backed bodies and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned of shortages of medicines, supplies and functioning hospital capacity. The UN has said famine conditions have been declared in parts of Gaza and that further intensification of military operations would deepen civilian suffering.

The arrivals come amid an escalated military campaign. Israel launched a major ground offensive on Gaza City on Tuesday. On the same day, a United Nations commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza; Israel’s foreign ministry issued a statement rejecting the report as “distorted and false.” The conflict began after an attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which Israeli authorities say killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reports that at least 64,964 people have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of the campaign, nearly half of them women and children.

Humanitarian agencies and medical organizations have repeatedly urged safe passage for patients in need of complex care that cannot be provided locally. UK officials said the evacuated children were selected on the basis of clinical need and the availability of appropriate specialist NHS services.

Officials did not disclose medical details about the children because of privacy and security considerations. The government said it had co-ordinated with international partners and would continue to work with embassy staff in the region to facilitate further medical transfers where clinically appropriate.

The evacuated families will receive support while in the UK, officials said, as clinicians and social services aim to provide continuity of care and access to rehabilitation and follow-up treatment. Health Secretary Streeting framed the operation as reflecting the NHS’s values of compassion and expertise at a time of urgent need.