UK has evacuted hundreds of Gazan children and students, minister confirms
Hamish Falconer tells MPs 'After the most recent wave of evacuations, we have now exceeded the target'
The UK has successfully evacuated “hundreds” of injured children and students from Gaza, surpassing its initial target, the Middle East minister has revealed.
During a Westminster Hall debate, where MPs urged the government to meet its humanitarian responsibilities in the region, Hamish Falconer stated: “After the most recent wave of evacuations, we have now exceeded the target I mentioned to some MPs in recent months.”
Falconer added, “Through a series of evacuation operations, we have managed to save hundreds from the dangers facing them in Gaza and offered them opportunities here in the UK.”
He also addressed calls from MPs to increase the number of people brought from Gaza: “There is a balance to be struck here. Clearly, medical assistance is most effective and timely in Gaza itself—on both sides of the yellow line.
“After that, it is most effective in the region, and I was pleased to see some of that provision in Cairo recently. Where that assistance cannot be provided, it is appropriate that we look at specialist cases, as we have done.”
Independent MP Shockat Adam was among those calling for more Gazans to be evacuated.
He said, “Project Pure Hope has managed to evacuate a total of three children so far for urgent treatment in the UK, while 10 children have been brought over by the UK Government for urgent care. We have brought refugees to this country before—we rightly welcomed more than 200,000 Ukrainians—so I am sure we could find the heart, the means, and the ways to bring our Palestinian children here if we really wanted to.”
The debate, which included strong criticism of Israel from pro-Gaza and left-wing Labour MPs, also saw Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell confirm that Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel was visiting Israel to assess aid distribution at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
“Trucks have been crossing into Gaza with aid supplies from Israel, the World Food Programme, and partners in the region such as the United Arab Emirates,” he said. “Maybe not all aid is getting through, but a lot of it is.”
Rosindell noted that Patel had met with COGAT and became the first British parliamentarian to visit the Civil-Military Coordination Centre, where she spoke with General Frank, who is overseeing the implementation of the 20-point (Trump) plan.
Labour MP Alex Sobel also called for the release of some Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, including Marwan Barghouti.
Sobel said, “There are over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, many of whom are part of civil society and the opposition. One of them, Marwan Barghouti, has been in prison for 23 years, seven months, and eight days, and has now been threatened with execution by Ben-Gvir. Is it not time we released some of those who could reinvigorate both the Palestinian political scene and civil society?”
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