BBC:
Plans to evacuate more seriously ill or injured children from Gaza and bring them to the UK for medical treatment are being carried out “at pace”, the government says.
The BBC understands the aim is to bring the plan into operation within weeks.
It is unclear how many children might be involved, but the Sunday Times reports the government is to allow up to 300 young people to enter the UK to receive free medical care.
Some Gazan children have already been brought privately to the UK for medical treatment through an initiative by Project Pure Hope, but the government has so far not evacuated any through its own scheme during the conflict.
A government spokesperson said on Sunday the plan was to “evacuate children from Gaza who require urgent medical care,” adding “we are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible.”
More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured since the war in Gaza begun in October 2023, according to the UN charity Unicef.
A Foreign Affairs Committee report published at the end of July said the government had “declined to support a medical evacuation of critically injured children to the UK, involving coordinating travel permits, medical visas and safe transport to the UK, where the children can receive specialised care unavailable to them in Gaza”.
Following that, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was “urgently accelerating efforts” to evacuate children who needed critical medical assistance to the UK for treatment.
According to the Sunday Times, the government scheme will require a parent or guardian to accompany each child, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before they travel.
