THE UK Government is facing legal action over its refusal to medically evacuate critically ill children from Gaza.
Reports from The Guardian reveal a case has been brought against the Foreign Office and the Home Office on behalf of three children with life-threatening conditions.
Lawyers argue ministers have failed to consider the severe lack of medical care in Gaza before denying evacuation requests.
The legal claim highlights the UK’s inconsistency, pointing out that Britain evacuated children from war zones in Bosnia and Ukraine, but has not done so for Gaza.
Carolin Ott of Leigh Day, the law firm representing the children, told The Guardian: “The UK Government has explained its failure on the basis that it supports treatment options in [[Gaza]] and the surrounding region and that there are visas available for privately funded medical treatment in the UK.
“However, these mechanisms are profoundly inadequate.”
The children’s families say evacuation is urgently needed. One child, aged two and referred to in the case as Child Y, suffers daily bleeding caused by an arteriovenous malformation in his cheek, leaving him in critical condition.
The two other children, referred to as Child S, are siblings with cystinosis nephropathy, a chronic condition also known as leaky kidney. Both have developed kidney failure and may require transplants, and one sibling is now immobile as a result.
Despite pressure from campaigners, the UK has not created a specific safe immigration route for these children.
The genocide in Gaza has now lasted over 650 days. More than 17,000 of the 58,000 Palestinians killed were children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The World Health Organization estimates 12,500 [[Gaza]]ns require medical evacuation. As of April, over 7000 have been evacuated abroad, nearly 5000 of them children.
As reported by The National, Dr Hani Isleem of Médecins Sans Frontières previously said that some countries fear that accepting patients will be seen as encouraging “forced migration.”
A UK Government spokesperson said they’ve funded healthcare for 500,000 Palestinians and backed initiatives like Project Pure Hope. However, only two children have reached the UK via this route, and government funding was denied.
First Minister John Swinney recently wrote to Keir Starmer, urging him to “engage” with Scotland over treating ill and injured Gazan children, though Starmer is yet to reply.
The Government must respond to the legal challenge by 28 July.
