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The Independent
11 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Starmer urged to engage with Scotland over Gaza evacuations
The Prime Minister has been urged to engage with Scotland on evacuating injured children from Gaza who would otherwise be 'left to die'. First Minister John Swinney wrote to Sir Keir Starmer earlier this month, saying Scotland 'stands ready' to receive some of the 2,000 children from Gaza injured as a result of the Israeli bombardment of the territory, to be treated in the NHS. But Mr Swinney claims to have received no response from the Prime Minister. In a statement to the PA news agency, Mr Swinney said: 'It is deeply saddening that so far the UK Government has refused to even enter into a dialogue about medical evacuations for children in Gaza who, without proper medical attention, will be left to die. 'That is the frank reality of life in Gaza under Israeli bombardment and blockade. 'The healthcare system in Gaza is on the brink of total collapse, with surgeons working day and night under artillery fire, with inadequate supplies and often no electricity. 'We know that many hospitals have been targeted and decimated by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces).' The First Minister added that Scotland is prepared 'to do what is required to save the lives of as many of these kids as we can'. His initial call came after a meeting with children's charity Unicef, prompting him to declare a 'race against time' to help children in need of urgent medical care. 'But we can't do so without the support of the Labour Government to get the children through the UK visa system and into Scotland,' he said. 'The suffering, torment and killing of the people of Gaza has gone on for far too long. 'I urge the Prime Minister to urgently engage with the Scottish Government on this issue so we can save as many young lives as we can.' A spokeswoman for the UK Government said: 'Since the start of the conflict, UK support has provided essential healthcare to over 430,000 people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 'We have helped several children with complex paediatric conditions access privately funded medical care in the UK, supporting an initiative by Project Pure Hope. 'We have been clear the situation in Gaza is intolerable and that there must be an immediate ceasefire. 'We urge Israel to let vital humanitarian aid in and allow Gazans to receive urgent healthcare, including allowing the sick and wounded to temporarily leave the Gaza Strip to receive treatment.'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Starmer urged to engage with Scotland over Gaza evacuations
The Prime Minister has been urged to engage with Scotland on evacuating injured children from Gaza who would otherwise be 'left to die'. First Minister John Swinney wrote to Sir Keir Starmer earlier this month, saying Scotland 'stands ready' to receive some of the 2,000 children from Gaza injured as a result of the Israeli bombardment of the territory, to be treated in the NHS. But Mr Swinney claims to have received no response from the Prime Minister. In a statement to the PA news agency, Mr Swinney said: 'It is deeply saddening that so far the UK Government has refused to even enter into a dialogue about medical evacuations for children in Gaza who, without proper medical attention, will be left to die. 'That is the frank reality of life in Gaza under Israeli bombardment and blockade. 'The healthcare system in Gaza is on the brink of total collapse, with surgeons working day and night under artillery fire, with inadequate supplies and often no electricity. 'We know that many hospitals have been targeted and decimated by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces).' The First Minister added that Scotland is prepared 'to do what is required to save the lives of as many of these kids as we can'. His initial call came after a meeting with children's charity Unicef, prompting him to declare a 'race against time' to help children in need of urgent medical care. 'But we can't do so without the support of the Labour Government to get the children through the UK visa system and into Scotland,' he said. 'The suffering, torment and killing of the people of Gaza has gone on for far too long. 'I urge the Prime Minister to urgently engage with the Scottish Government on this issue so we can save as many young lives as we can.' A spokeswoman for the UK Government said: 'Since the start of the conflict, UK support has provided essential healthcare to over 430,000 people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 'We have helped several children with complex paediatric conditions access privately funded medical care in the UK, supporting an initiative by Project Pure Hope. 'We have been clear the situation in Gaza is intolerable and that there must be an immediate ceasefire. 'We urge Israel to let vital humanitarian aid in and allow Gazans to receive urgent healthcare, including allowing the sick and wounded to temporarily leave the Gaza Strip to receive treatment.'
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Climate
- Business Recorder
Unicef alarmed by severe monsoon rains, floods
ISLAMABAD: Unicef said on Thursday that it is deeply alarmed and concerned by the severe monsoon rains and floods sweeping across Pakistan, which have claimed the lives of 85 children since 26 June and injured 162 more. In the past 24 hours alone, 22 children have died in Punjab, mostly from their houses collapsing under relentless heavy rains. In a statement issued here, Unicef said record-breaking heat of 48.5 °C has accelerated glacial melt in northern Pakistan, causing flash floods. Torrential rains have now triggered an emergency in Punjab and wreaked havoc in other parts of the country. As monsoon rains continue and waters rise, children face life-threatening risks from drowning and collapsing homes to spikes in waterborne diseases and electrocution. Climate change is making extreme weather more frequent and destructive, with children paying the heaviest price. According to UNICEF's Children's Climate Risk Index (CCRI), children in Pakistan face extremely high risk from climate change, with Pakistan ranking 14th out of 163 countries. Unicef is coordinating closely with the government and partners and stands ready to respond with pre-positioned emergency supplies for health, nutrition, safe water and hygiene to meet the most immediate needs of children and families. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Middle East Eye
3 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Why Israel wants to kill the children of Gaza
The western-backed Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip has entered its deadliest phase, and the world continues to slumber on. This summer has marked an uptick in the daily killing of Palestinians - an average of 100 lives massacred each day, most of them already contending with the pangs of hunger amid a man-made mass starvation campaign. The small coastal territory, blockaded by Egypt and Israel with the complicity of the international community, is now the most dangerous place in the world for children, who make up about half the population. As early as 31 October 2023, Unicef described Gaza as "a graveyard for children, a living hell for everyone else". This has been echoed by numerous UN officials, most recently last Friday by the UN refugee agency chief, Philippe Lazzarini, who warned of Israel's "Machiavellian scheme to kill" in Gaza. Missiles and shrapnel rip through the fragile bodies of children in open marketplaces, at water collection points, at aid distribution sites, and while waiting in line for nutritional supplements. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Children are bombed inside displacement tents, burned alive in school shelters and buried beneath the rubble of their homes. Even before they are born, foetuses are blown from their mothers' wombs by the force of bombs. Last week, the decapitated body of eight-month-old foetus Saeed Samer al-Laqqa - documented in footage widely shared on social media - failed to register even a mention in mainstream media. His absence from the headlines is part of the institutional silence that has sustained Israel's genocidal project for more than 21 months. Even when their deaths are acknowledged, the children of Gaza are reduced to little more than casualty figures. But their killing has never been collateral damage: it is a deliberate effort to extinguish a future Israel fears: a generation of Palestinians born under siege, whose survival, memory, and innate human desire for freedom and dignity threaten the foundations of a settler-colonial state built on their erasure. Prison to martyrdom On 12 July, Youssef al-Zaq, barely 17 years old, was killed alongside his niece and nephew, Maria and Tamim, in an Israeli attack on their building in Gaza City. Youssef, once known as the youngest Palestinian hostage, was born in an Israeli prison in 2008. 'Youssef's birth and story exposed the occupation. That's why they didn't want him to stay alive' - Ahmed Sahmoud, Youssef's cousin His mother, Fatema al-Zaq, was arrested in 2007 while attempting to cross into the occupied West Bank and, during the early stages of her captivity, learned she was two months pregnant. "The Israeli occupation tortured his mother so that she would miscarry," Youssef's cousin Ahmed Sahmoud told me. Fatema gave birth to a healthy baby boy, but her arms and legs were shackled during labour, and she received minimal medical care from Israeli prison guards. Youssef spent the first 20 months of his life behind bars. In 2009, he and his mother, along with 19 other Palestinian female detainees, were released in exchange for a video showing Israeli hostage Gilad Shalit alive. "There was a lot of attention on Youssef after he came home," said Sahmoud, a journalist who escaped Gaza last year and now lives in Egypt. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of the Israel-Palestine war "The al-Zaq family called him the flower of the family. He was a quiet boy, and very much loved in his neighbourhood," he added. The youngest of eight siblings, Youssef was determined to live a full life and longed to travel. But Sahmoud said the family believes Youssef was deliberately targeted by Israel: "Youssef's birth and story exposed the occupation. That's why they didn't want him to stay alive," his cousin said, citing Israel's history of targeting and killing former Palestinian detainees. "The Israelis resented the fact that Youssef, who was born in their prison, was released. He represented a victory over them, a new lease of life. "I can't explain to you the special place Youssef held in the family," Sahmoud said. "His martyrdom left a massive hole. The Zionist occupation army snuffed out the family's source of light." Dehumanising children Youssef's story should not be the quintessential tale of childhood in Gaza. He was born in a prison and lived the rest of his life in an open-air cage. He witnessed multiple Israeli assaults. He lived through nearly two years of genocide. He died hungry, sharing a single piece of bread with his niece and nephew. He was pulled from the rubble of his home. Death has become a grim constant over the past 21 months. More than 17,000 children have been killed, according to the Gaza health ministry - a severe undercount that excludes the missing and the untold thousands still buried under rubble. Even so, that number means an average of 30 children have been killed by Israel every day since 7 October 2023 - equivalent to one classroom, or one child every 45 minutes. How does one begin to explain, let alone comprehend, Israel's disproportionate and deliberate targeting of children? With its advanced weaponry, surveillance and control over the population registry, these killings are not accidental - they are codified into policy. From the earliest days of this genocide, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoked the biblical story of Amalek to justify mass killing in Gaza, including children. In Gaza, children are learning the alphabet through grief and hunger Ghada Abu Muaileq Read More » The killing and maiming of children - still a war crime under international law - has been given full legitimacy, and even encouragement, through the rulings of Zionist rabbis and the rhetoric of Israeli government ministers. With such dehumanising language and fear of the other, these figures openly call for the extermination of Palestinian children and "the women who produce terrorists". They proclaim that "there are no innocents in Gaza", that every Palestinian child is "already a terrorist from the moment of his birth". To that end, Israel has been consistent. Since the settler colony's founding in 1948, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians has never stopped. Genocide is no longer just an intention; it is official strategy. "Thinning out" Gaza's population is now formal government policy. Social collapse Why the children of Gaza? One million children in Gaza represent a growing youth population - a demographic challenge to an Israeli society that knows, deep down, it does not belong to a land it has drenched in Palestinian blood. Otherwise, why would it persist in violent subjugation and state murder? What kind of twisted psyche boasts of killing children and sees it as a divine right? Who celebrates the murder of innocents and sees their existence as a threat? Targeting children serves another nefarious purpose: a calculated assault on the social reproduction of an indigenous society. Why Israel is waging war on Palestinian children Read More » The goal is to collapse communal bonds and societal structures. There is the fast genocide of bombs and missiles, and the slow genocide of starvation, mass internment, and the decimation of healthcare - creating a petri dish of disease where children are the most vulnerable. From this chaos - designed to break the spirit of liberation and justice - colonial powers exploit the vacuum to expand illegal settlements and plunder natural resources. During the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, the British confined 1.5 million Kenyans in detention camps and tightly controlled villages rife with disease, starvation, torture, rape and murder. "Only by detaining nearly the entire Kikuyu population of 1.5 million people and physically and psychologically atomising its men, women and children could colonial authority be restored and the civilising mission reinstated," Harvard historian Caroline Elkins wrote. In Algeria, too, in response to anti-colonial resistance from the FLN, the French forcibly rounded up thousands of peasants at gunpoint and relocated them to guarded settlements known as camps de regroupement. The aim was to drain public support from the FLN by isolating the rural population, controlling their movements, and restricting access to resources. By the end of the Algerian War in 1962, some two million Algerians were confined to these camps, suffering from disease and malnutrition. Future freedom fighters From the British to the French to the Israelis, settler-colonial tactics have followed the same brutal logic - even as their scale and cruelty have evolved. Across time and geography, the settler-colonial project has relied not only on physical conquest but also on the erasure of identity, the fragmentation of community, and the suppression of future resistance. To a violent colonising power, a child with a book, a dream, or a memory is more dangerous than any weapon Again I ask: why the children of Gaza? They represent exactly that future - one rooted in knowledge and historical memory. In a society with one of the highest literacy rates in the region, despite decades of siege and bombardment, educated youth are not only symbols of survival; they are agents of liberation. To a violent colonising power, a child with a book, a dream, or a memory is more dangerous than any weapon. Targeting children, then, is not collateral damage. It is strategy. It is part of a broader campaign to destroy hope, overwrite the future, and maintain the machinery of occupation through fear and erasure. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Sudan's children face growing threat of deadly infectious diseases as vaccination rates halve
Children in Sudan, caught up in what aid organisations have called the world's largest humanitarian crisis and threatened by rising levels of violence, are increasingly vulnerable to deadly infectious diseases as vaccinations in the country plummet. In 2022, more than 90% of young children in Sudan received their routine vaccinations. But that figure has nearly halved to 48%, the lowest in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, more than 14 million infants remain unvaccinated and the world is not on track to meet goals of halving the number of these 'zero-dose' children compared with 2019 levels by 2030, the WHO reported on Tuesday. While misinformation and vaccine hesitancy have driven falls in immunisation in some countries, 'that has not been the problem here', said Dr Tedbabe Degefie Hailegebriel, chief of health for Unicef Sudan. 'This plummeting coverage is driven entirely by the war.' The country's civil war began two years ago and has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more, in what the International Rescue Committee has called 'the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded'. There were 838,000 children in Sudan last year who did not receive a single dose of vaccine – the third-highest figure in the world, behind only Nigeria (2.1 million) and India (909,000). The proportion of children who have received a DTP-1 jab – the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine – is seen as a key indicator of access to essential healthcare. Missing it, Hailegebriel said, meant a 'child, and most probably also their parents, have almost zero contact with the health system'. She said the war had hit Sudan's health service hard, with people displaced and the physical destruction of health facilities, supply lines and information systems 'that makes the health service functional'. 'Health workers – doctors, nurses, midwives, community volunteers – have not been paid in months. And just the basic infrastructure – the clean water available to health facilities, the electricity availability to health facilities – is totally destroyed,' she said. Disease outbreaks in Sudan tend to affect people who have 'lost your safe place, your home, your protection, however modest that might be', and find themselves in camps or temporary accommodation. 'When that is coupled with an already vulnerable child who is not vaccinated, the vulnerability is compounded,' she said. Diseases that can be prevented with vaccination, including measles, not only kill but can leave survivors with long-term complications, Hailegebriel said, adding that these were 'children who are robbed of their future'. The WHO said war and conflicts around the world were a major threat to immunisation progress, with children living in one of 26 countries 'affected by fragility, conflict or humanitarian emergencies' being three times more likely to be unvaccinated than their counterparts in stable countries. However, there were 'emerging signs of slippage' or stalling progress in many parts of the world, said Dr Kate O'Brien, director of the WHO's immunisation, vaccines and biologicals department. 'Even the smallest drops in immunisation coverage as measured at the country level can have devastating consequences. It opens the door to deadly disease outbreaks and puts even more pressure on health systems that are already stretched,' she said. And while access to vaccination remains the main issue worldwide, 'we're extremely concerned about mis- and disinformation because of the threat it has to worsen the situation'. O'Brien said she expected cuts to aid funding to affect vaccine coverage in future years, with countries struggling to raise domestic finance. Humanitarian efforts had succeeded in boosting vaccination rates in the first half of this year in Sudan, said Hailegebriel, but Unicef's appeal for the country remained unfunded. The charity has shipped in containers to rebuild the country's 'cold chain', vital for keeping vaccines and other essential medicines at the right temperature so they remain effective on the journey from factory to patient. But when conflict flares those efforts have to stop. 'In areas where there was active fighting, active conflict, of course we will not be able to deliver,' she said. 'But when the situation changes, that's when we move in. 'The destruction is unspeakable. The whole infrastructure gets damaged, medicines get looted. So whenever you go into those new areas, it is again rebuilding to make sure the already shaking health system doesn't collapse further. 'The situation of Sudan has not received the world's attention it deserves,' she said. 'It is our hope that this will change, and these hostilities stop so that children get the peaceful environment they need to live and thrive.' Abdallah Idriss Abugarda, who leads the Darfur Diaspora Association in the UK, said the situation in the Darfur region was becoming more difficult, particularly in the besieged city of El Fasher. That meant, Abugarda said, that most families he spoke to in Sudan had more pressing concerns than vaccination. 'It's not a priority to them – they want to have food delivered, and medicine for malaria and fever for the children.'
