Shamefully, the UK has denied Gaza’s injured children treatment in Britain. Why?
A young Palestinian injured by Israeli bombardment is hooked to an IV at a hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza, on 18 April 2025
Dr Omar Abdel-Mannan, Dr James Smith, Professor Nick Maynard, Dr Ang Swee Chai and Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah write in Middle East Eye on 8 May 2025:
I am proud that the UK is offering lifesaving medical care to these Ukrainian children, who have been forced out of their home country by the Russian invasion while undergoing medical treatment,” Sajid Javid, then the UK health secretary, said in March 2022.
Within weeks of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the UK government had facilitated the evacuation of 21 Ukrainian children with cancer, and coordinated their treatment through the National Health Service (NHS).
In contrast, last week – after 17 months of persistent lobbying – only two children from Gaza were finally permitted to enter the UK for medical treatment. They were chosen not because they are among those most severely injured by Israel’s onslaught in Gaza; quite the opposite. Their diagnoses appear more politically neutral, involving congenital conditions not directly related to Israel’s ongoing violence in Gaza.
Behind what some might frame as a triumph of British humanitarianism lies a much darker reality. These are the only two Palestinian children in need of medical care that the UK government has agreed to receive since Israel accelerated its assault on Gaza in October 2023.
Their care hasn’t been coordinated by the Foreign Office, nor will it be provided by the NHS. Rather, their treatment was arranged privately, funded entirely by donations and facilitated by a coalition of doctors, lawyers and volunteers through the NGO Project Pure Hope.
The UK government hasn’t just failed to help; it has actively blocked efforts to transfer severely injured children – those with blast wounds, amputations and burns – to UK hospitals for essential treatment.
Political obstruction
Officials from both the Home Office and Foreign Office have consistently denied visas, citing supposed logistical, medical or security reasons. These excuses collapse under minimal scrutiny, since we know that the UK government has rightly facilitated the transfer and treatment of children from Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan in recent years.
These obstructions remained, despite the readiness of several UK hospitals. Major paediatric centres in London, Birmingham and Manchester have offered to provide world-class care in trauma, orthopaedics, plastic surgery and rehabilitation. Surgeons and other specialists have volunteered, charitable funding has been secured – and still the UK government has stood in the way.