First group of critically ill and injured Palestinian children will be brought to UK 'in coming weeks'
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images
The first group of critically ill and injured Palestinian children will be brought to the United Kingdom in the next 'coming weeks'.
The BBC, which has recently been called out as being 'complicit' in the Israeli 'genocide' against Palestine, has reported that a group of between 30 to 50 people will be evacuated from Gaza to the UK for medical treatment as part of a government operation being coordinated by the Foreign Office, Home Office and Department of Health.
It comes shortly after several MPs issued a letter to the government urging them to bring sick and injured children from Gaza to the UK 'without delay'.
In the letter, which was sent last week, a cross-party group of as many as 96 MPs warned that children were at risk of imminent death due to the 'decimation' of the healthcare system in Gaza, and any barriers to evacuation should be immediately lifted.
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Such individuals will travel from hospital with family members via a third country before touching down in the UK.
It is in this third country, the name of which has not yet been revealed, where biometric data will be collected.
"Given the challenge of returning children to Gaza, it is understood some may enter the asylum system after completing treatment," the BBC states.
The children brought to the UK under the government scheme will then be treated on the NHS.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports: "Millions of Palestinians struggle to live with dignity under Israeli occupation, facing coercive practices and Palestinian political divisions."
In its latest cumulative reported impact snapshot, published last week, OCHA reports that as of 13 August, there have been 61,722 reported Palestinian fatalities (60,199 identified as of 31 July 2025 as: 27,605 men, 18,430 children, 9,735 women and 4,429 elderly).
There have also been 154,525 reported Palestinian injuries.
Only 50% (18 out of 36) hospitals remain partially functional, with 62% (10 out of 16) field hospitals partially operational.
Just 39% (66 out of 170) primary health care centres are functioning - only 1 fully, the rest partially.
Over 14,800 patients need evacuation; from 1 February - 6 August 2025, 2,116 patients and 3,305 companions were evacuated.
As many as 1.35 million people need emergency shelter, with 1.4 million requiring essential household items.
The 'man-made' famine due to Israel blocking humanitarian aid is dire as 81% of households reported poor food consumption (July), up from 33% in April. 24% experienced very severe hunger with nearly 90% using extreme coping methods.
Due to this, over 92% of children aged 6 to 23 months and pregnant/breastfeeding women lack minimum dietary diversity, while over one million children require mental health and psychosocial support.
To donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians, which works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees, you can visit its website.