MSF UK statement on medical evacuations from Gaza
MSF welcomes the announcement that two critically ill children from Gaza have arrived in Scotland for life-saving treatment, with several more children due to arrive in the UK in the coming days.
This is a vital first step – one that must lead to a sustained and reliable pathway for the injured and sick of Gaza to get treatment in the UK. There are vast, unmet medical needs amongst Palestinians suffering from illnesses and chronic conditions, as well as catastrophic and complex injuries resulting from the ongoing genocide conducted by the Israeli government in Gaza. Children and adults are dying as they await medical evacuation.
Between July 2024 and August 2025, at least 740 patients, including 137 children, died waiting for evacuation. Nineteen MSF patients have died while waiting, including 12 children.
The UK has a responsibility to expand its role in medical evacuations. Between October 2023 and July 2025, 7,642 patients - 5,303 of them children - were evacuated from Gaza, with over 90% received by just four countries: Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, and Turkey. The EU took only 3%, and the UK just 0.03%.
Whilst we welcome this first medical evacuation effort, we urge the UK to continue and scale up this scheme to ensure that more sick and injured children - as well as adults - are able to access life-saving care. Every delay means more avoidable deaths and suffering as the relentless attacks on Gaza continue to escalate.
— Jacob Burns, MSF UK Migration Operations Manager for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).