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Middle East Eye
02-05-2025
- Health
- Middle East Eye
First children from Gaza arrive in UK for medical treatment after 17-month struggle
Two young girls from Gaza have arrived in the UK, the first Palestinian children in need of specialist medical treatment to be evacuated to the country, over a year and a half into a war that has devastated Gaza's healthcare system. Rama, 12, and Ghena, five, travelled to the UK from Egypt last week and will be treated in the private wings of leading hospitals in London, through a project funded entirely by charitable donations. "We were so scared. We were living in tents and shrapnel from air strikes used to fall on us," Rama, who has a lifelong bowel condition and needs an urgent operation, told the BBC. "Mum used to suffer so much going to hospitals while bombs were falling and would stand in long queues just to get me a strip of pills. Here I'll get treatment and get better and be just like any other girl." Ghena will be treated for fluid pressing up against her optic nerve. Without an operation, she could lose sight in her left eye. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Project Pure Hope, the initiative through which the girls came in partnership with the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund (PCRF), is the result of over a year and half of effort among a group of organisations and healthcare workers to push for a legal pathway to bring children from Gaza to the UK for treatment. 'A moment of national shame' But a doctor speaking on behalf of a campaign group for medical workers supporting Palestine told MEE the length of time it had taken the British government to allow the two girls into the country - while leaving others in need of treatment still without visas - ought to be "a moment of national shame". He criticised the government too for failing to provide the girls with fully funded care, as it had done for Ukrainian children flown to the UK for medical treatment. Why Israel is waging war on Palestinian children Read More » An attempt in January 2024 to bring four siblings and their cousin from Gaza to the UK for medical treatment through the same initiative and also funded by donations was unsuccessful when they were unable to obtain visas from the Home Office. Meanwhile, the need for medical evacuations for children in Gaza, the demand for which was already overwhelming the short list of countries offering to receive them, has only grown. Baroness Arminka Helic, who has been calling on the government to create a pathway, said this week that gravely injured children in Gaza "should never have been in this position". "Many of them are suffering from injuried or conditions that require highly specialised care. In Gaza, where the health system has collapsed, that care simply doesn't exist," she said. "Giving them access to treatment isn't just the right thing to do, it is the only chance they have at recovery, and I thank the UK doctors and healthcare leaders who made this possible after seventeen months of tireless dedication and collaboration.' 'Appalling double standard' Dr Omar Abdel-Mannan, a British-Egyptian paediatric neurologist and founder of Health Workers for Palestine, said that the girls' arrival was a "tribute to the extraordinary efforts of Dr Farzana Rahman, Project Pure Hope and the Palestinian families and volunteers who fought for their survival". Abdel-Mannan has previously been a vocal supporter of the campaign to bring the girls to the UK. However, he said, their evacuation after more than 17 months of struggle "was made possible not by the UK government, but despite it". "This should not be a moment of national pride. It should be a moment of national shame," Abdel-Mannan said. 'This should not be a moment of national pride. It should be a moment of national shame' - Dr Omar Abdel-Mannan, Health Workers for Palestine "After 18 months of Israel's relentless bombing, genocidal acts, mass displacement, and the collapse of Gaza's healthcare system, the UK has admitted just two injured Palestinian children." He noted that in contrast to the girls, whose care depends entirely on volunteers and private donors, Ukrainian children evacuated to the UK for treatment in recent years have received fully state-funded care. "This appalling double standard reveals a brutal truth: the UK government does not treat all children's lives as equal. That is morally indefensible," Abdel-Mannan said. Project Pure Hope, which is also providing the girls' families with temporary housing, interpreters, mental health services and safeguarding measures, said their arrival marked "the beginning of a broader programme to provide medical treatment for more children in the months ahead". PCRF board chair Vivian Khalaf said the mission was a testament to "our relentless determination to save lives, even in the face of overwhelming obstacles and prolonged, complex evacuation procedures". "But this is just one success - countless critically ill and injured children in Gaza are still waiting. The need is urgent, and we must respond with the urgency this crisis demands, both in Gaza and beyond.'
Arab News
02-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Palestinian girls arrive in UK for medical treatment
LONDON: Two young Palestinian girls have arrived in the UK for medical treatment of serious health conditions. The girls, named by the BBC as Ghena, aged 5, and Rama, 12, are the first Gazans to be given temporary UK visas since Oct. 7, 2023. They flew from Egypt, where they have been living with complex conditions after Gaza's healthcare system collapsed during Israel's invasion. Rama, who has a serious bowel condition, previously lived in Khan Younis and told the BBC: 'We were so scared. We were living in tents and shrapnel from airstrikes used to fall on us. 'Mum used to suffer so much going to hospitals while bombs were falling and would stand in long queues just to get me a strip of pills. Here I'll get treatment and get better and be just like any other girl.' Her mother told the BBC: 'I'm very happy for Rama because she'll get treatment here. As a mother, I felt so sorry in Gaza because I couldn't do anything to help her. 'To see your daughter dying in front of your eyes, day by day, watching her weaken and get sicker — it pained me.' Ghena has fluid pressing against her optic nerve, which could cause blindness if left untreated. Her mother Haneen told the BBC: 'Before the war, Ghena was having medical treatment in Gaza, in a specialised hospital. She was getting tests done every six months there and treatment was available.' Haneen said the hospital was destroyed in the first week of Israel's invasion, leaving the family with little choice but to seek help elsewhere. 'She began complaining about the pain,' Haneen said. 'She would wake up screaming in pain at night.' Haneen added: 'I hope she gets better here. In Gaza there are thousands of injured and sick children who need medical treatment. I hope they get a chance like Ghena.' The girls were assisted by Project Pure Hope and the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, which worked with the World Health Organization to get them to the UK for treatment. PCRF Chairwoman Vivian Khalaf told the BBC: 'We came across these cases through an ongoing list that is getting longer and longer of children who need urgent medical treatment outside of Gaza. 'The current physicians and hospitals that continue to be operating to whatever extent have determined that the treatment isn't available within Gaza.' Khalaf said 200 children from Gaza have so far been taken abroad for medical treatment, including to the US, Jordan, Qatar and European countries. The WHO has condemned the state of Gaza's health system as 'beyond description' after 18 months of conflict that has killed more than 50,980 Palestinians in the enclave, according to its Health Ministry.
BBC News
01-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Two Gazan girls first to arrive in UK for medical treatment
Two Palestinian girls with serious health conditions have been brought to the UK for private medical Gazan children are the first to be granted temporary UK visas since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out in October five, and Rama, 12 arrived in the UK from Egypt on Saturday to be treated for conditions which cannot be dealt with in war torn Gaza, Project Pure Hope (PPH) mother said she hoped other children "would get the chance" to benefit from the chance to receive medical care overseas. Both suffer from pre-existing conditions which require specialist treatment not available in Gaza, where the healthcare system has come under huge pressure during the war between Hamas and - who has a lifelong bowel condition - described her life in Khan Younis, where her family home was destroyed, and spoke about her hopes for the told BBC News: "We were so scared. We were living in tents and shrapnel from airstrikes used to fall on us."Mum used to suffer so much going to hospitals while bombs were falling and would stand in long queues just to get me a strip of pills."Here I'll get treatment and get better and be just like any other girl."Her mother Rana said: "I'm very happy for Rama because she'll get treatment here. "As a mother, I felt so sorry in Gaza because I couldn't do anything to help her. "To see your daughter dying in front of your eyes, day by day, watching her weaken and get sicker – it pained me." Ghena has fluid pressing against her optic nerve, which could lead to her losing the sight in her left eye if she does not have an mother Haneen told the BBC: "Before the war, Ghena was having medical treatment in Gaza, in a specialised hospital. "She was getting tests done every six months there and treatment was available."But the hospital was destroyed a week after the war began, she said, and Ghena was no longer able to get the care she needed."She began complaining about the pain," Haneen continued. "She would wake up screaming in pain at night.""I hope she gets better here," Haneen added."In Gaza there are thousands of injured and sick children who need medical treatment. I hope they get a chance like Ghena."PHP and PCRF worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) to secure their temporary stay in the UK and private funding for their chairwoman Vivian Khalaf told the BBC: "We came across these cases through an ongoing list that is getting longer and longer of children who need urgent medical treatment outside of Gaza."The current physicians and hospitals that continue to be operating to whatever extent have determined that the treatment isn't available within Gaza."Khalaf said 200 children had been relocated for medical treatment via the initiative, including to the US, Jordan and Qatar, as well as several European countries. She was unable to say how many children in total had been identified as needing to be moved to the care of international health services in the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this month that conditions at Gaza's hospitals - several of which have been damaged during the fighting - are "beyond description".The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken than 50,980 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Daily Mirror
01-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
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.
The National
01-05-2025
- Health
- The National
Two girls evacuated from Gaza for urgent medical treatment in UK breakthrough
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Two children from Gaza have been evacuated to the UK for urgent medical treatment, the first patients to arrive after a 17-month campaign for Britain to accept those in need of hospital care. Medical aid organisations, community groups and MPs have been lobbying the UK government for months and meeting senior ministers about fully funded plans to treat a small amount of injured children privately in leading UK hospitals. For British-Palestinian families, these negotiations have kept alive a 'glimmer of hope' that injured children could come to the UK for treatment. The girls were transferred to Egypt before travelling to the UK, accompanied by their mothers and one sibling. Ghena, five, needs treatment on an optical nerve to save her sight, while Rama, 12, needs an operation on her bowel. They are now receiving privately paid specialist care, organised under the Project Pure Hope (PPH) humanitarian project, in private wings of leading London hospitals, supported by teams specialising in surgery, paediatrics and psychological health. Temporary housing, interpreters and mental health services have also been provided. All costs, including evacuation, were covered by private charitable donations. More patient transfers are planned in the coming months. Baroness Arminka Helic, a Conservative member of the House of Lords who has been campaigning for children in need of treatment to be brought to the UK, 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, and I thank the UK doctors and healthcare leaders who made this possible after 17 months of tireless dedication and collaboration.' While other European and Arab countries have taken in children and adults for emergency treatment from Gaza, the UK had not done so until now. Fully funded plans to give Palestinian children injured in Gaza life-saving treatment in the UK were shown to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in October, with calls for his government to lift visa restrictions. Mr Starmer met British-Palestinian families who demanded the UK government enable children injured in Gaza to enter the UK to receive specialist hospital treatment. Palestinian ambassador Dr Husam Zomlot said that meeting was a step towards Britain's recognition of its historical role in the Palestine-Israel conflict. In December it emerged that an orphaned four-year-old boy who had lost both of his legs had been denied a medical visa for treatment in the UK, and 50 MPs signed a letter urging the government to do more to take in injured Palestinian children. One injured teenager from Gaza, who lost both his parents in an air strike, was given a visa to live in the UK under the Conservative government last June. The healthcare system in Gaza has been severely degraded, with hospitals overwhelmed, infrastructure damaged and medical supplies critically limited. The specialist medical care the children need is not available in Gaza or anywhere in the region. The UK is one of a handful of countries with the expertise to treat them. PPH said each child was selected following a clinical review process to ensure medical urgency, legal compliance and patient safety. It is understood their conditions are not linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict. PPH said: 'For many children with complex or life-threatening injuries, the treatment they need, including specialist surgery, rehabilitation, or trauma care, is not available locally.' Established in 2023 by a coalition of NHS clinicians, healthcare professionals, lawyers and humanitarian advocates, PPH has arranged medical treatment for injured children from Gaza in Italy, the UAE and Jordan. The initiative has provided critical medical equipment to healthcare providers in Gaza and Lebanon, and also offered support to hospitals and organisations in Israel caring for children affected by the crisis. This week, Mr Starmer hosted the head of the Palestinian Authority as the UK government announced a £101 million ($134.6 million) funding package for the occupied territories in a show of the UK's 'steadfast support'. The Prime Minister said discussions were focusing on how to return to a ceasefire as quickly as possible, and 'get humanitarian aid in at speed and at volume' as he met his counterpart Mohammad Mustafa. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Mr Mustafa also signed an agreement outlining their commitment to advancing Palestinian statehood within a two-state solution.
