UK to evacuate hundreds of seriously ill children from Gaza for NHS treatment

Hundreds of seriously ill children from Gaza will be evacuated to the United Kingdom and treated by the National Health Service under a new plan set to be announced in the coming weeks, according to a senior Whitehall source.

The UK government will allow up to 300 Palestinian children to enter the country to receive free medical care. The scheme will operate “in parallel” with an initiative led by Project Pure Hope, a volunteer-run group of medical professionals working to bring injured and sick children from Gaza to the UK. Since the war began in October 2023, only three children have received medical visas, following months of lobbying and fundraising by the organisation, which is privately funded, Caliber.Az reports per The Times. 

Among those already brought to the UK is 15-year-old Majd al-Shaghnobi, who arrived last week with his mother, brother and younger sister. Majd was severely injured in February last year while collecting humanitarian aid in the Kuwaiti area of northern Gaza. An Israeli tank shell exploded nearby, shattering his jawbone and injuring his leg. He will undergo surgery at Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in London to treat damage that has affected his ability to eat and smile.

The new government-backed scheme is being developed jointly by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Each child brought to the UK will be accompanied by a parent or guardian and siblings if necessary. The Home Office is expected to carry out relevant biometric and security checks before their arrival. Officials acknowledge that some of the children may never be able to return home.

According to UNICEF, 50,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza since the outbreak of the conflict. Figures from the Hamas-run health ministry indicate that more than 7,000 patients have been evacuated from the territory, including 5,000 children, most of whom have been transferred to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, or Qatar. Several European countries — including Spain, Italy, Ireland, Norway, and Romania — have accepted about 200 children and are expected to take more in the coming months.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has publicly supported the expansion of child evacuations. Writing in the Daily Mirror last month, he stated: “I know the British people are sickened by what is happening. The images of starvation and desperation in Gaza are utterly horrifying. We are urgently accelerating efforts to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance — bringing more Palestinian children to the UK for specialist medical treatment.”

Over 100 MPs have signed a letter coordinated by Labour MP Stella Creasy, urging the government to expedite the plan. “The commitment we all share to help these children remains absolute and urgent — with every day, more are harmed or die, making the need to overcome any barriers to increasing the support we give them imperative,” she said. “We stand ready to support whatever it takes to make this happen and ask for your urgent response.”

The plan is being developed amid renewed diplomatic activity around Gaza and Palestinian statehood. On August 2, Hamas declared it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established. The group said its “armed resistance … cannot be relinquished except through the full restoration of our national rights.”

Last week, Starmer announced that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and revives negotiations toward a two-state solution — a position that has drawn criticism due to concerns that recognition might proceed before Hamas releases the remaining Israeli hostages.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy, speaking to The Sunday Times following his return from a UN conference in New York focused on the two-state solution, sought to address those concerns.

“This was a historic step forward not just for those who believe in the just cause of Palestinian statehood, but all those who reject Hamas terrorism and support Israel’s security,” he said. “Hamas are rightly pariahs who can have no role in Gaza’s future and we have now built a diplomatic consensus around that. But Hamas are not the Palestinian people.”

“In New York, we mapped out a clear pathway forwards for security, governance, and reconstruction in Gaza, and for a viable and sovereign Palestine, alongside an Israel secure and at peace with its neighbours.”

He added: “The UK position on recognition is part of this co-ordinated international effort. It must begin with an immediate ceasefire that frees the hostages and ends the agony of their families, and which lifts the inhumane aid restrictions.

“The Israeli government’s drip-feeding of aid has horrified the world. Britain is working intensely with Jordan and other partners to get aid into Gaza by air and land — but only with the lifting of Israeli restrictions can we meet the desperate need at scale. Since the horrors of October 7, we have called for the release of all hostages and for Hamas to play no role in the future of Gaza. Those demands are absolute and unconditional.”

By Sabina Mammadli