Biometric rules delay evacuation of Gaza children to UK

Up to 50 children from Gaza could be evacuated to the UK for medical treatment by the end of the month, but biometric hurdles mean the most serious cases may not make it.

The children will receive NHS care and travel with one parent or caregiver under the scheme, which was announced by the UK government earlier this month.

Participants in the arrangement told The National the Gazan children in greatest need are first selected by doctors and then given permission to travel by the Cogat bureaucracy in Israel’s Ministry of Defence, which co-ordinates their travel with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The UK can evacuate children who are already on the WHO's list, the source explained. But there are concerns that the most urgent cases – such as severe burns – will be not make it to the UK’s selection, as the Home Office requires the children to travel to Jordan or Egypt to have their biometric details processed for their visa.

Children approved for medical evacuation by the Israeli authorities exit Gaza through the border crossings to Israel, where they are then evacuated to the country where they will be treated. But the UK’s biometric requirements mean they will also need to make the stopover in Amman or Cairo. The Home Office and Department of Health and Social Care have been contacted for comment.

This process has excluded Palestinian children from treatment in the UK in the past, according to Omar Din, a UK medical professional who has been co-ordinating medical evacuations for Palestinian children to Europe.

Earlier this year the UK responded to calls to evacuate Hatem, a two-year old orphan with 35 per cent burns, and Karam, a baby who suffered from an easily treatable birth defect. But it then acted too slowly, and Italy took the children instead, alongside 15 others, in an emergency evacuation on June 11.

Italy has waived its biometric requirement and brought over 180 children and adults from Gaza in 14 evacuations. MPs called on the UK government to bring the sick children “without delay” this week, as the humanitarian crisis escalates and famine has been declared.

Among their demands was to “waive the biometric requirements for evacuees under this scheme”, in a letter signed by 96 cross-party MPs. “The requirement for biometrics as a prerequisite to issue visas remains a major barrier, given that the only authorised biometrics centre in Gaza closed in October 2023,” the group warned.

“We urge you to waive biometric requirements for evacuees under this scheme and permit applications to be completed after departure from Gaza.” They also said it was “vital” for the children’s carers or parents to accompany them to the UK and be with them during treatment.

“There is clear medical evidence to suggest their presence can positively impact the recovery of sick or injured children,” they said. The UK government has said it will allow one caregiver to travel with the child.

The UK’s decision to treat Palestinian children on the NHS came after over 18 months of campaigning from MPs and British doctors. So far, 7,528 patients have been evacuated from Gaza for medical treatment, according to the WHO. But only three are currently being treated in the UK.

Since July 2024, the treatment has been mainly for trauma (712 cases) and cancer (660), followed by eye disorders (250), birth defects (240) and heart disease (208).

Project Pure Hope had raised the funds to treat up to 50 children privately but it took them 19 months to get their first visa. It now has three Palestinian children in the UK for private treatment and hopes to continue running its scheme in parallel to the UK government.