
Joy as girls from Gaza become first to arrive in UK for vital treatment - 'like a dream'
Seriously-ill Rama, 12, and Ghena, five, will receive specialised care in London after becoming the first children from Gaza to get to the UK for vital treatment
Two young girls from war-torn Gaza are receiving vital treatment in the UK after a landmark breakthrough.
Seriously-ill Rama, 12, and Ghena, five, will receive specialised care in London after a "lifeline to hope" agreement to bring them to Britain. The girls are the first to arrive under a new humanitarian scheme with healthcare in the region on the brink of collapse amid a brutal Israeli aid blockade.
The girls both have conditions they have suffered with from birth, but cannot get the treatment they desperately need in Gaza. Moving photos show Rama and Ghena, whose care is being paid for by charity Project Pure Hope (PPH), arriving in London.
The girls, accompanied by their mothers and one sibling, are now being treated in the private wing of top hospitals in the capital. The little girls are among thousands of children in desperate need of treatment with little or no access to vital treatment.
Rama's mum Rena said reaching the UK was "just like a dream". Her daughter - who is weak and malnourished - is expected to undergo a bowel operation in London.
Meanwhile Ghena requires urgent treatment to save the vision in her left eye. Dr Farzana Rahman, from PPH, told Sky News: "One of the hardest parts of trying to make progress in this area is that delays cost lives.
"A number of children have died who we haven't been able to help and this is an urgent situation and I think for all of us that's the hardest part." Dr Rahman said she did not know why it had taken so long to secure visas for the two girls.
Their arrival follows nearly 18 months of negotiations and has been hailed by supporters. Dr Krish Kandiah told The Mirror: "Seeing two young girls finally receive the medical help they so desperately need is truly wonderful. It's the culmination of 18 months of campaigning, negotiating, and organising.
"When compassion crosses borders, healing begins — one child, one act of kindness at a time. Our prayer is that these Gazan children will be the first, not the last, whom the UK helps."
Baroness Arminka Helic said: 'These gravely injured children should never have been in this position. Many of them are suffering from injuries or conditions that require highly specialised care. In Gaza, where the health system has collapsed, that care simply doesn't exist.
"Giving them access to treatment isn't just the right thing to do, it is the only chance they have at recovery." Rama and Ghena were flown to the UK from Egypt following lengthy collaboration between PPH, UK medics, the British government and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
The Foreign Office stressed it had not opened a new visa route for refugees. PPH warned that thousands more children are unable to get the treatment they need.
Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said a "small number" of kids from Gaza will be allowed to travel to the UK for privately-funded treatment. The Government has called on Israel to end its blockade, now in its ninth week, and let aid through.
Medical supplies are running low and all of Gaza's hospitals are damaged after months of airstrikes.
The United Nations' emergency relief coordinator said Israel's actions amount to "cruel collective punishment." Tom Fletcher said: "Blocking aid starves civilians. It leaves them without basic medical support.
"It strips them of dignity and hope. It inflicts a cruel collective punishment. Blocking aid kills." UN food stockpiles have run out and aid groups say thousands of Palestinian children are malnourished.
Israel insists its blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release hostages. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said the blockade means 3.000 trucks of vital supplies cannot reach the one million children whose lives are in danger without them.
Gaza's Health Ministry said a further 18 people had been killed and dozens more wounded in Israeli strikes. It said the overall death toll since October 2023 is now over 52,000 people.
The ministry claims more than half the dead have been women and children. The bodies of another eight people - including three children and three women - arrived at Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, the hospital said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Wales Online
8 hours ago
- Wales Online
Welsh tourist vanishes on holiday and found on life support in hospital
Welsh tourist vanishes on holiday and found on life support in hospital It's thought 29-year-old Ashton Jones, from Cwmbran, was violently attacked after he became separated from his friends Ashton Jones is gravely ill in a Thai hospital (Image: Wales News Service ) A British tourist who mysteriously vanished on a night out in Thailand was found on life support in hospital – and his family fear he won't survive unless he is brought back home. Ashton Jones, 29, went on a last-minute trip to Bangkok but was separated from his friends on a night out. His family have no idea what happened before he was found in a hospital having emergency brain surgery – and is now fighting for his life nearly 6,000 miles away from home. And to make it worse Ashton didn't take out holiday insurance before jetting off 6,000 miles to Bangkok. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here. His worried grandmother Beverley Walker, of Cwmbran is desperately trying to raise money to pay for his medical care and bring him back home to Wales. She said Ashton had travelled to Thailand with a lifelong friend on May 30 and on arrival met up with another friend. Article continues below Ashton Jones with his grandmother Beverley Walker (Image: Wales News Service ) But five days into his trip the family received the worst news that he had gone missing after a night out partying. His friends spent hours searching for Ashton after he went missing from the nightclub they were in. He was found in hospital in Thailand and medics believe Ashton, who has epilepsy, was violently attacked. Beverley said: 'I am deeply concerned that without immediate financial or diplomatic assistance my grandson may not survive. 'The emotional toll on our family is immense. We are heartbroken and fearful, watching from afar while Ashton suffers without the care he urgently requires.' Beverley said on Monday, nearly a week after Ashton went into hospital on June 3, workers at Chonburi Hospital tried to wake him up. She added: 'It was a success but he still has a long way to go. He's bedbound and suffering with fits, cannot talk, eat, or drink and isn't aware. 'We all as a family are worried sick with fear for Ashton and how we can bring him home.' Ashton's trip was only booked at the last minute and he didn't have any travel insurance (Image: Wales News Service ) But Ashton's treatment and funding to bring him to the UK will cost the family thousands, which is way more than they can afford to pay. As he went out to Thailand at short notice Beverley said he 'did the unthinkable' and travelled without taking out any insurance. The family have set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise £50,000 to help cover medical expenses and to bring him home. So far more than £3,000 has been raised by more than 100 donors since the fundraiser was launched. Beverley said: 'The hospital in Thailand is asking for the cost of his treatment on going that is far beyond what our family can afford. 'In the meantime Ashton's condition continues to deteriorate and it feels as though we are being left helpless as time runs out. 'We have already put together life savings for medical bills, flights, travel, accommodation to be with him but would never be able to afford to get him home to better health care and his family. 'We all as a family are worried sick with fear for Ashton and how we can bring him home. 'So please any donations made towards getting Ashton home is appreciated beyond words can describe. 'From the bottom of our hearts thank you.' You can donate to the fundraiser here. Article continues below A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are supporting a British man who has been hospitalised in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.' Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice.


Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Family faces £40k bill as man left on organ-support after falling ill on holiday
Ian Wright, 47, and his wife Sarah, from Northumberland, were on holiday in Cyprus when he suddenly became very ill and he is currently in in Nicosia General Hospital The family of a British man are facing a staggering bill of more than £40,000 to fly him home after he became seriously ill while on holiday in Cyprus, leaving him on dialysis, a ventilator and multi-organ support. Ian Wright, 47, was watching Newcastle's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal with friends he and wife Sarah had flown out to visit in Tala, near Paphos, when he became unwell ill, just six days into the holiday. Sarah initially suspected Ian had food poisoning, but he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis with necrosis soon after being admitted to a medical centre in Tala. Haulage worker Ian has been in Nicosia General Hospital since Friday, May 30, and has spent much of that time on dialysis, a ventilator and multi-organ support. Ian's mum Monica Muckle, 67, flew out to the Mediterranean island and has been by his side since May 22. She is desperate to bring her son back to their hometown of Cramlington, Northumberland. However, for Ian to make the journey home in his current condition, he would need to be flown by private jet accompanied by a doctor and paramedic at a cost of £40,995. The family are fast running out of money to prolong their stay in Cyprus, with Monica telling ChronicleLive: "We are absolutely heartbroken because if we have to go home on Monday, he's here on his own. "The thought of it is just horrendous. He knows we're there, and the thought of going in on Sunday and saying to him we've got to go home and not even be able to tell him that he's going to be following us because we just don't know." Ian and Sarah have an annual travel insurance policy, but Ian did not declare that he had seen medics about high blood pressure and high uric acid in the UK. Therefore, Ian's travel company AXA have declined to pay out. A GoFundMe page was set up by Sarah's friend and colleague, Lucy Wareing, which has raised almost £9,000. That was originally to cover the family's expenses in Cyprus before the full severity of his case was known. However, they are trying to use as little of that as possible, so that they can put any money raised towards Ian's repatriation. Monica said: "We're trying to keep hold of money we have got from the fund. We want him home and we don't want to be spending money that's going to go towards helping him to get home." The family hope that they could use Ian's workplace pension to cover some of his repatriation costs, but do not know how long it will take them to access it. Monica says she has been working until the early hours of each morning contacting charities, but most support families in repatriating loved ones who have died abroad. They are also in contact with the British Consulate in Cyprus, who are helping the family with translation and interpreting, and getting regular updates from the hospital. Monica said: "As you get older, you realise how important it is to put things like that on the travel insurance. We're not holding out any hope where that is concerned. "We're not trying to scrounge, that's why we're looking into the pensions because if we can get that, maybe it won't be enough for all of it, but it could cover a fair proportion and maybe we can crack on getting family and friends to help us a bit more. We don't want to beg for money, we want to be able to get the money through whatever ways we can. We're still having to take it a day at a time, but we just want him home."


NBC News
13 hours ago
- NBC News
36 Palestinians killed trying to obtain desperately needed aid in Gaza, officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinians desperately trying to access aid in Gaza came under fire again Tuesday, killing 36 people and wounding 207, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Experts and humanitarian aid workers say Israel's blockade and 20-month military campaign have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine. At least 163 people have been killed and 1,495 wounded in a number of shootings near aid sites run by the Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which are in military zones that are off-limits to independent media. The Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions at people who it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner. The foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points themselves. But it has warned people to stay on designated access routes and it paused delivery last week while it held talks with the military on improving safety. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that there is 'meaningful progress' on a possible ceasefire deal that would also return some of the 55 hostages still being held in Gaza, but said it was 'too early to hope.' Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also mentioned Tuesday that there was progress in ceasefire negotiations. Netanyahu was meeting with the Israeli negotiating team and the defense minister Tuesday evening to discuss next steps. In southern Gaza, at least eight people were killed while trying to obtain aid around Rafah, according to Nasser Hospital. In northern Gaza, two men and a child were killed and at least 130 were wounded on Tuesday, according to Nader Garghoun, a spokesperson for al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. He said most were being treated for gunshot wounds. Witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire around 2 a.m. (7 p.m. Monday ET), several hundred yards from the aid site in central Gaza. Crowds of Palestinians seeking desperately needed food often head to the sites hours before dawn, hoping to beat the crowds. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people it referred to as suspects. It said they had advanced toward its troops hundreds of yards from the aid site prior to its opening hours. Mohammed Abu Hussein, a resident of the nearby built-up Bureij refugee camp, said Israeli drones and tanks opened fire, and that he saw five people wounded by gunshots. Abed Haniyah, another witness, said Israeli forces opened fire 'indiscriminately' as thousands of people were attempting to reach the food site. 'What happens every day is humiliation,' he said. 'Every day, people are killed just trying to get food for their children.' Additionally, three Palestinian medics were killed in an Israeli strike Tuesday in Gaza City, according to the health ministry. The medics from the health ministry's emergency service were responding to an Israeli attack on a house in Jaffa street in Gaza City when a second strike hit the building, the ministry said. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike, but said over the past day the air force has hit dozens of targets belonging to Hamas' military infrastructure, including rocket launchers. Israel and the United States say they set up the new food distribution system to prevent Hamas from stealing humanitarian aid and using it to finance militant activities. The United Nations, which runs a long-standing system capable of delivering aid to all parts of Gaza, says there is no evidence of any systematic diversion. U.N. agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to decide who receives aid and by forcing Palestinians to relocate to just three currently operational sites. The other two distribution sites are in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah, which Israel has transformed into a military zone. Israeli forces maintain an outer perimeter around all three hubs, and Palestinians must pass close to them to reach the distribution points. Hamas started the war with its terrorist attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. They still hold 55 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead, but doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.