30-07-2025
'I'm watching my son die silently': Mother's plea as UK stalls on Gaza evacuations
Pressure is mounting on the UK government to open a medical corridor from Gaza, after it approved a proposal to bring 30 critically ill children out of the territory, as ITV News Correspondent Rachel Younger reports
Warning: Some readers may find the contents of this report distressing.
Baby Hani was just four months old when he sustained an explosive injury that tore off his entire leg.
Lying bandaged in a hospital, he now cries in agony with little pain relief and is constantly on the brink of infection.
Two-year-old Yaqoub suffers from a vascular malformation on his cheek, one that bleeds daily and has left him dangerously anaemic.
Doctors urgently recommend a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and begin treatment, raising concerns that it could be a tumour that may become inoperable without swift evacuation.
But, due to a lack of access to necessary tests and treatment in Gaza, his condition stays unstable, leaving him at constant risk of a life-threatening bleed.
'With every passing day, Yaqoub loses more blood and jawbone,' his mother said.
'I'm a mother watching my son die silently.'
Hani and Yaqoub are two of hundreds of children in Gaza with life-threatening injuries or chronic conditions that doctors say could be treated if only they could be evacuated.
But for most, help never comes.
Now, legal action is being taken on behalf of Gaza's most critically ill children.
Earlier this month, British charity Children Not Numbers, supported by UK law firm Leigh Day, launched the challenge against the UK government, demanding it establish a humanitarian medical evacuation corridor for them.
After launching in 2024, the charity has campaigned for the health, safety, education and rehabilitation of the children of Gaza.
According to the World Health Organisation, as many as 12,500 patients in Gaza currently require medical evacuation.
By April, just over 7,000 had been transferred to Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Europe and the US. Of those, nearly 5,000 were children.
Until recently, the UK had accepted just two children for treatment, both in May, via a route privately arranged and funded by Project Pure Hope (PPH).
Last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the UK had approved a new PPH proposal to bring 30 more critically ill children from Gaza for treatment.
'I know the British people are sickened by what is happening. The images of starvation and desperation in Gaza are utterly horrifying,' Starmer said on Friday.
'We are urgently accelerating efforts to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, bringing more Palestinian children to the UK for specialist medical treatment.'
But Children Not Numbers says the number should be at least double and that the need far outweighs what has so far been promised.
"We've had Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, Romania and a lot of children have gone into the US with different aid organisations," Dr Mubashir Cheema, Children Not Numbers.
"But the UK stands alone, I would say in not offering a formal pathway or a scheme for these children to come across."
A Government spokesperson told ITV News that it is "looking at next steps to implement" bringing children to the UK for specialist medical treatment.
'The UK continues to take additional immediate steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation," they added.
"For example, last week we announced £7.5 million of additional support for UK-Med, a frontline medical organisation deployed to crises who have now treated over 500,000 Gazans in field hospitals in Gaza over the course of the conflict.'
Leigh Day senior associate solicitor, Carolin Ott said: "It is disappointing that after 14 days and in circumstances which could not be more urgent, the government has requested an extension to respond to our clients' pleas for a medical evacuation scheme. Children not Numbers have already reported the deaths of 60 children whilst awaiting evacuation so there is no time to lose.
"Promises of a scheme are being made publicly and whilst our clients cautiously welcome this news, they need to know without delay what action will be taken and when. We hope that the government will be urgently engaging with Children Not Numbers who are supporting our clients and other similar organisations over the coming days."
As the war stretches into its twenty-first month, the toll on Gaza's youngest has become a devastating symbol of a crisis that shows no sign of easing.
Since October 7 - when 1,200 Israelis were killed in Hamas-led attacks - Israel has launched a prolonged military campaign across the Gaza Strip.
More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to the territory's health ministry. Over 17,000 of them were said to be children.
Gaza's health infrastructure has collapsed under bombardment and blockade. With medicine, fuel, and food restricted, children are dying not just from wounds, but from hunger and preventable illnesses.
The enclave's borders, controlled by Israeli and Egyptian authorities, remain largely closed to medical evacuations, which require complex approvals and coordination.
While diplomatic negotiations continue, parents are left watching their sons and daughters in endless pain, knowing help may never come.
