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Two children from Gaza have been evacuated to the UK for urgent medical treatment, the first patients to arrive after a 17-month campaign for Britain to accept those in need of hospital care.
Medical aid organisations, community groups and MPs have been lobbying the UK government for months and meeting senior ministers about fully funded plans to treat a small amount of injured children privately in leading UK hospitals. For British-Palestinian families, these negotiations have kept alive a “glimmer of hope” that injured children could come to the UK for treatment.
The girls were transferred to Egypt before travelling to the UK, accompanied by their mothers and one sibling.
Ghena, five, needs treatment on an optical nerve to save her sight, while Rama, 12, needs an operation on her bowel.
They are now receiving privately paid specialist care, organised under the Project Pure Hope (PPH) humanitarian project, in private wings of leading London hospitals, supported by teams specialising in surgery, paediatrics and psychological health.
Temporary housing, interpreters and mental health services have also been provided. All costs, including evacuation, were covered by private charitable donations.
More patient transfers are planned in the coming months.
Baroness Arminka Helic, a Conservative member of the House of Lords who has been campaigning for children in need of treatment to be brought to the UK, said: “These gravely injured children should never have been in this position. Many of them are suffering from injuries or conditions that require highly specialised care. In Gaza, where the health system has collapsed, that care simply doesn’t exist.
"Giving them access to treatment isn’t just the right thing to do, it is the only chance they have at recovery, and I thank the UK doctors and healthcare leaders who made this possible after 17 months of tireless dedication and collaboration.”
While other European and Arab countries have taken in children and adults for emergency treatment from Gaza, the UK had not done so until now.
A Foreign Office statement said the girls' arrival comes through existing provisions within the immigration rules to provide for travel to the UK for private medical treatment and is not a new visa route for refugees.
Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer confirmed Gazans are to receive an extra £7.5million in UK-funded medical support "to help ease their dire humanitarian situation".
Mr Falconer said: “I am delighted the UK has supported an initiative by Project Pure Hope to bring a small number of children from Gaza to the UK, and that they are about to begin privately funded medical treatment here.
“Our primary focus remains ensuring our support best meets the needs of the sick and injured whilst they are in Gaza and the region, and the funding announced today will enable thousands of civilians to access healthcare there.
“The UK continues to push for a return to a ceasefire and for negotiations to bring an end to the conflict, free the hostages and help secure long-term peace."
Fully funded plans to give Palestinian children injured in Gaza life-saving treatment in the UK were shown to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in October, with calls for his government to lift visa restrictions.
Mr Starmer met British-Palestinian families who demanded the UK government enable children injured in Gaza to enter the UK to receive specialist hospital treatment. Palestinian ambassador Dr Husam Zomlot said that meeting was a step towards Britain’s recognition of its historical role in the Palestine-Israel conflict.
In December it emerged that an orphaned four-year-old boy who had lost both of his legs had been denied a medical visa for treatment in the UK, and 50 MPs signed a letter urging the government to do more to take in injured Palestinian children. One injured teenager from Gaza, who lost both his parents in an air strike, was given a visa to live in the UK under the Conservative government last June.
The healthcare system in Gaza has been severely degraded, with hospitals overwhelmed, infrastructure damaged and medical supplies critically limited.
The specialist medical care the children need is not available in Gaza or anywhere in the region. The UK is one of a handful of countries with the expertise to treat them. PPH said each child was selected following a clinical review process to ensure medical urgency, legal compliance and patient safety. It is understood their conditions are not linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
PPH said: “For many children with complex or life-threatening injuries, the treatment they need, including specialist surgery, rehabilitation, or trauma care, is not available locally.”
Established in 2023 by a coalition of NHS clinicians, healthcare professionals, lawyers and humanitarian advocates, PPH has arranged medical treatment for injured children from Gaza in Italy, the UAE and Jordan.
The initiative has provided critical medical equipment to healthcare providers in Gaza and Lebanon, and also offered support to hospitals and organisations in Israel caring for children affected by the crisis.
This week, Mr Starmer hosted the head of the Palestinian Authority as the UK government announced a £101 million ($134.6 million) funding package for the occupied territories in a show of the UK’s “steadfast support”.
The Prime Minister said discussions were focusing on how to return to a ceasefire as quickly as possible, and “get humanitarian aid in at speed and at volume” as he met his counterpart Mohammad Mustafa.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Mr Mustafa also signed an agreement outlining their commitment to advancing Palestinian statehood within a two-state solution.
