Over 50 British MPs Urge UK to Evacuate Injured Children From Gaza

Date: 17 December 2024 - 22:07

News ID: ۱۳۴۷۸۵

GAZA (Dispatches) – Over 50
British MPs and peers have signed a letter urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to implement a medical evacuation program for injured Palestinian children in Gaza.
In May, Middle East Eye reported that the UK had denied medical treatment to critically injured children from Gaza by not issuing them visas - unlike several other wealthy countries.
The letter, organized by Labour MP Kim Johnson and sent to the prime minister on Tuesday, was supported by MPs and peers across several parties.
Johnson told MEE: “It is a moral outrage that the UK has failed to provide any support to a single Gazan child in need of medical attention, when so many other caring countries have provided this assistance.”
She added that it is impossible to imagine the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, although “the ICJ has described it as a plausible genocide”.
Gaza has been ranked as the deadliest place in the world for children, with over 14,500 children killed by the Zionist regime’s bombardment.
The letter to Starmer, seen by MEE, read: “We have had disturbing reports from medical professionals and humanitarian organization staff that hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza are massively overwhelmed, with critical shortages of medical supplies, staff, and functioning infrastructure.”
It added that the UK has evacuated injured children from Ukraine to Britain to ensure they received proper medical treatment.
“There is no reason why we should not extend the same support to the children of Gaza.”
“Many other countries, such as Italy and Norway, have accepted Gazan children in need of urgent medical attention, leaving the UK an outlier. Why is the UK not considering implementing a scheme like this?”
The letter called on the Labour government to work alongside the “relevant NGOs”, to create a “short-term medical evacuation program from
Gaza to the UK”.
Johnson told MEE: “Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita of any country in the world.
“Those suffering from cancer or other chronic and debilitating sicknesses are not able to get the care they need, even if they manage to make it to neighboring countries.”
She added, “The UK is a wealthy nation with extensive medical expertise to save children’s lives, we just need the political will to make this happen, and to be on the right side of history.”
Last week, a report revealed that 96 percent of children in Gaza feel that death is imminent.
The study, conducted by the international NGO War Child and based on interviews with over 500 children, parents and caregivers, found that 49 percent of children in Gaza wish they were dead.