A Palestinian girl who lost an arm during the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza arrived in the UK on Tuesday for advanced medical treatment, amidst continuing calls for the British government to enhance its efforts in facilitating the evacuation of critically ill and injured children from the region.
Mariam Sabbah was welcomed at Heathrow Airport by her mother, Fatma Salman, and her two brothers. A small gathering was present to greet them, offering gifts, balloons, and flowers.
The family initially aimed to travel to the United States for medical care, but they have been stranded in Egypt since the Trump administration imposed a ban on visitor visas for Palestinians last August.
Ten-year-old Mariam had her arm amputated after a missile struck their home in Deir al-Balah. She is among over 11,000 patients reported to have been evacuated from Gaza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which estimates that 18,500 patients are in urgent need of medical attention unavailable in Gaza.
While the UK government announced a medical evacuation program last year, Mariam’s arrival was made possible through privately funded treatment organized by the US-based NGO FAJR Global and Project Pure Hope (PPH). PPH, a UK charity, has been facilitating the evacuation of patients and their families to the UK since 2025, utilizing a framework that inspired the government’s current evacuation scheme.
Among those present to welcome the family were three families previously aided by the charity, as well as Soad Abuhemaida, a 28-year-old scholar who arrived in the UK from Gaza in November.
Humanitarian organizations have urged the UK government to intensify its efforts, particularly after the WHO announced on Monday a pause in medical evacuations following the fatality of a contracted worker.
Mosab Nasser, co-founder of FAJR Global, warned that the WHO’s decision would lead to further loss of life.
The UK government’s evacuation program, developed in conjunction with Project Hope’s initiative to provide essential NHS care to critically ill and injured children in Gaza, depends on the WHO to supply a list of priority patients identified by medical professionals in Gaza. These cases are then assessed by NHS leaders.
The evacuation process, often lengthy and complex, requires collaboration between the WHO and Israeli authorities, resulting in a very limited number of medical evacuations. This has become even more challenging following the WHO’s recent announcement to suspend operations.
Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns at Medical Aid for Palestinians, highlighted that the WHO’s announcement underscores the precarious nature of the current evacuation pathways, which depend on a ceasefire.
Since October 2023, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have facilitated the highest number of medical evacuations from Gaza, as reported by the WHO, followed by EU countries, Jordan, and Turkey.
When the UK government scheme was unveiled in August of the previous year, a senior official indicated that up to 300 critically ill children could be evacuated. Advocates subsequently expressed hopes that at least 100 children would receive assistance, emphasizing that lives were at stake while waiting.
Currently, the number of children evacuated along with their immediate families has reached 50, according to a government spokesperson, who did not provide insights on how the recent announcement would impact the scheme.
