Ten sick children from Gaza arrive in the UK for treatment
The children were joined by 50 companions, the World Health Organisation said.
Several gravely ill children from Gaza have arrived in the UK today for urgent NHS treatment, the Government has confirmed.
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The children become the first to arrive under a scheme coordinated by the UK government to help ease the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The ten children were joined by 50 companions, the World Health Organisation said.
More children are expected to arrive in the UK in the next weeks as the Foreign Office, Home Office and Department of Health continue to push the scheme.
Read more: UN Commission says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "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.
"This reflects the very best of our NHS values – compassion, care and expertise when it matters most."
Some children have previously come to the UK for private treatment, but this week marks the first time the young Palestinians have been evacuated by Government departments.
Newly appointed Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the healthcare in Gaza has been "decimated and hospitals are no longer functioning".
She warned children are "unable to get the medical care they need to survive."
The children’s arrival comes after a commission established by the United Nations has said that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The report said there are reasonable grounds to conclude that four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out since the start of the war with Hamas in 2023.
“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the UN Commission set up to investigate war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel's foreign ministry rejected the report, denouncing it as "distorted and false" and saying it is based on ‘lies’.
In response, Israel said: “Hamas is the party that attempted genocide in Israel - murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and openly declaring its goal of killing every Jew.”