Bring sick and injured children to UK from Gaza immediately, MPs say
A cross-party coalition of MPs has written to the government, urging them to bring sick and injured children from Gaza to the UK without delay
for medical care. In a letter sent to senior ministers, 96 MPs warned that children are in danger of imminent death and that any barriers to their evacuation should be removed. They warn that the Gaza healthcare system has been decimated
and that evacuations have been requested as well as adequate funding. According to UN charity UNicef, more than 50,000 children have been killed or injured since the Gaza war started in October 2023.
The letter, which was co-ordinated by Labour MP and GP Dr Simon Opher, said that vital infrastructure in Gaza had been destroyed, and that a long blockade
of food, water, and medical equipment, as well as continuing violence has resulted in a medical and humanitarian tragedy of
purely based on clinical relevance and individual case analysis,horrific proportions. The letter's signatories, who also known as MSF, said they were working with medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), which also known As MSF), to expedite the process of bringing children with trauma injuries or severe existing illnesses to the UK. Evasions must be
We are increasing plans to evacuate children from Gaza, including moving them to the United Kingdom for emergency medical care, where this is the right option for their care,according to the MPs, regardless of political, cultural, or financial interests. After treatment is complete, the letter also suggests that children and their families have the possibility of claiming or resettling in the United Kingdom. The Home Office had said that biometric tests would be carried out before children and carers travel, but in the letter, MPs challenged the efficiency of such checks well in advance of evacuation. Earlier this month, the government announced plans to evacuate seriously ill or injured children from Gaza and bring them to the United Kingdom for medical care. No estimate has been given on the number of people to evacuate, but it is estimated that it is around a few hundred people. Since the start of the conflict, the UK has provided funds to ensure that wounded Gazans can be treated by hospitals in the area, has been assisting Jordan in airdrop assistance into the territory, and has requested that Israel allow more aid to enter via land routes.
taskforcea government spokesperson said. According to them, a cross-party
urgently act on its pledge by establishing a dedicated, publicly funded pathway based on clinical need, not bureaucracy. The UK's biometrics visa requirements must be waived, she said.is working to bring the scheme together. MSF UK Liz Harding told the BBC that she applauded the letter. According to her, the UK must
Every delay costs lives. On October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a Gaza campaign in reaction to the Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took hostage 251 others. Israel has been strongly chastised for the 22-month war with Hamas, with UN-backed experts advising of widespread famine in the besieged territories. For the first time, members of an international community of
The Elderscalled Gaza's conflict
unfolding genocideand blamed Israel for the famine among the population's people. Israel has rebutted the allegations by saying that its forces kill terrorists and not civilians, not civilian victims, and that Hamas is to blame for Gaza's suffering. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 60,000 people have since been killed in Gaza.
