For the past 21 months, Gaza has faced genocide at the hands of the Israeli state. Over this time, I’ve watched with heartbreak, frustration and resolve as a humanitarian crisis has spiralled into a catastrophe.
Gaza’s health system has been all but destroyed. Thousands of children have suffered catastrophic injuries from bombing, burns, shrapnel, starvation or delayed treatment. Thousands have chronic health conditions but are unable to receive vital treatment that would be easily accessible in so many countries.
Their only hope lies beyond the border, yet so few are being allowed to leave.
That’s why, for nearly two years, I’ve been working with charities, clinicians, legal advocates and cross-party colleagues to campaign for the UK to step up – not just in words, but in actions. And finally, in April, we saw a breakthrough.
Two brave young children arrived in London from Gaza – the first children medically evacuated to the UK since the escalation began in October 2023. They came here for urgent treatment. One needed surgery to save her sight. The other had a lifelong bowel condition that local doctors simply could not treat.
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Their journey was made possible thanks to the amazing work of NGOs and a network of supporters, including frontline National Health Service staff, lawyers and campaigners.
This was a landmark moment. But we must be clear: it cannot stop here. The arrival of these two children should be viewed as the start of a national programme, not the end of a campaign.
Coordinated response
The UK has a commendable track record of supporting children to receive needed medical care during armed conflict. It has proven that it can act and that there is political will. It has proven that we have the capacity, the infrastructure, and crucially, the support of healthcare professionals and the public.
What we haven’t seen yet is a coordinated, scaled-up response.
Last October, Unicef reported that around 2,500 children in Gaza needed complex medical care that could only be delivered outside of the war-torn territory – but just 22 children per month were being medically evacuated because of the Rafah border closure. At that rate, it would take more than seven years to treat the children already identified as needing urgent care.
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Nearly a year on, we expect this situation to be much graver – and these children simply do not have that time. Many are suffering in unbearable environments with open wounds, amputations, burns and untreated infections. Some are being operated on without anaesthetic. Others have conditions that in any other part of the world would be treatable, but in Gaza, are now fatal.
Take the stories of Child Y and Twins S and S, two cases being supported by the NGO Children Not Numbers.
Child Y is a two-year-old boy in Gaza. Since January 2024, he has suffered from a terrifying and rapidly deteriorating condition. What started as bleeding from a lesion in his mouth was later revealed via CT scan to be an aggressive growth of blood vessels spreading across his face, jaw and skull.
This mass is not responding to treatment. He is in a lot of pain and the bleeding is relentless. Child Y now requires frequent blood transfusions and is severely anaemic. His family lives in constant fear of a catastrophic bleed that could take his life at any moment.
Recent scans suggest the growth might be a malignant tumour, but without the ability to biopsy or treat it locally, doctors in Gaza are helpless. There is a window – a narrow one – in which this child could be saved, but that window is closing. He urgently needs evacuation to a specialist hospital abroad. Without it, he will almost certainly die.
Twins S and S are four-year-old siblings suffering from cystinosis, a rare lifelong genetic condition that causes toxic levels of the amino acid cystine to build up in cells, gradually destroying vital organs. The standard treatment is a drug called cysteamine taken regularly, plus careful monitoring. But due to the blockade and bombing, this essential medication is no longer available in Gaza.
Without it, the twins’ health is spiralling. Both have been hospitalised for dangerous electrolyte imbalances. Their kidneys are already damaged and require further treatment.
Malnutrition, another consequence of the siege, is compounding their suffering. What makes this even more heartbreaking is that their condition would be entirely manageable – if they had access to proper care. Without urgent evacuation to a paediatric centre with access to medication, specialist paediatric facilities for assessment and intervention, and nutritional support, they will not survive.
Lifesaving intervention
These children don’t need charity; they need access. What could a UK intervention mean? Everything. It could mean a diagnosis, surgery, a lifesaving drug or treatment. It could mean they have a future.
The UK has the hospitals, the doctors and – above all – the moral responsibility to offer that lifeline. One decision could be the difference between life and death. The only question is whether we will choose to act. We need to urgently scale up the medical evacuation of children, and the UK must play its part.
We have seen our European counterparts step up. Countries like Italy and France have created dedicated pathways. The complete collapse of Gaza’s health system at the hands of Israel means that the care required simply doesn’t exist locally. A wider response is not only appropriate, but also a matter of moral urgency.
I welcome the initial work of our government and the support given by ministers. But the truth is, this response remains an outrageous shortfall.
We need action, not words. These children cannot wait any longer. They need us now
The evacuation of the first two children was funded entirely through private and charitable donations. Not a penny came from the NHS. The visas were granted through existing discretionary powers, not through a structured or sustainable government scheme.
And as of today, no clear pathway exists for NGOs or families to request medical evacuations to the UK on a consistent basis.
We have a moral duty and the logistical means to do more. We’ve done it before: for Ukrainian children, for Syrian refugees, for unaccompanied minors fleeing war. Why not for Gaza’s children?
This isn’t about politics. It’s about life and death. If we can save a child, we must.
Across the country, people are speaking out. Doctors are volunteering. Charities are mobilising. Communities are fundraising. And parliamentarians from across the House of Commons are working together to make sure this doesn’t stop with two children.
I am calling on the government to do what this country does best in times of crisis: show compassion, lead by example and act decisively. We need action, not words. These children cannot wait any longer. They need us now.
The first evacuation story gives us hope. But hope must become sustained action. The government must turn this pilot evacuation into a permanent, humane and properly funded programme.
We know it can be done. Now we need to see it done at scale. Because every child in Gaza who needs urgent care deserves the same chance: the chance to live.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
