Palestinian Girl Arrives in UK for Specialist Care
Mariam Sabbah, a 10-year-old Palestinian girl who lost her arm during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, arrived in the UK on Tuesday to receive specialist medical treatment. Her arrival comes amid ongoing calls for the British government to enhance efforts to evacuate critically ill and injured children from Gaza.
Mariam arrived at Heathrow airport accompanied by her mother, Fatma Salman, and two brothers. They were welcomed by a small group of supporters who brought gifts, balloons, and bouquets.
The family had initially planned to seek treatment in the United States; however, since the Trump administration suspended visitor visas for Palestinians in August 2022, they had been unable to proceed and remained stranded in Egypt.
“We’re happy that we’re here, we never thought we would actually be here in the UK,”
said Salman, while her children stood nearby smiling.“They were a bit nervous at the beginning, but now when they feel like everyone is around them, they are happy and excited.”
Medical Evacuations and Treatment Needs
Mariam, whose arm was amputated due to injuries sustained, is among more than 11,000 patients evacuated from Gaza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO estimates that approximately 18,500 patients in Gaza require urgent medical care that is unavailable locally.
Although the UK government has announced a medical evacuation scheme, Mariam’s treatment in the UK is privately funded, facilitated by the US-based NGO FAJR Global and the UK charity Project Pure Hope (PPH). PPH has been assisting with evacuations to the UK since 2025, operating a model that inspired the current government program running alongside it.
Among those welcoming Mariam and her family were three families previously assisted by PPH, as well as Soad Abuhemaida, a 28-year-old scholar who arrived in the UK from Gaza in November.
“When I heard that there was a girl coming in a few days and she’s going to get medical care from the UK it really made me feel happy,”
said Abuhemaida, whose family remains in Gaza.“I feel what she’s feeling now because I was in her shoes.”
Calls for Increased Government Action Amid WHO Suspension
Humanitarian organizations have urged the UK government to intensify its efforts, particularly following the WHO’s announcement on Monday that it would suspend medical evacuations after a contracted WHO worker was killed.
Mosab Nasser, co-founder of FAJR Global, warned that more lives would be lost due to the suspension.
“Because of the war on Iran and the closure of all the border crossings with Gaza, evacuations have actually been halted for a long time,”
said Nasser, who travelled with the family from Egypt.“We haven’t been able to evacuate anyone since the war on Iran.”
The UK government’s evacuation scheme, developed following Project Pure Hope’s private pathway to provide NHS care for critically ill and injured children from Gaza, depends on the WHO to supply a list of priority patients identified by medical specialists in Gaza. These cases are then reviewed by NHS leadership teams.
The evacuation process is complex and requires coordination between the WHO and Israeli authorities, resulting in a limited number of medical evacuations prior to the WHO’s suspension announcement.
Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns at Medical Aid for Palestinians, stated that the WHO’s decision highlighted the fragility and insecurity of the evacuation routes without a ceasefire.
“The UK government and other governments must move beyond limited evacuation pledges and exert meaningful pressure on Israeli authorities to permit the unrestricted entry of aid, reopen all crossings and allow humanitarian agencies allowed to operate at scale,”
he said.“Without urgent action to uphold international law, we will see more preventable illness and deaths.”
Regional Evacuation Efforts and UK Government Scheme
Since October 2023, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have facilitated the majority of medical evacuations from Gaza, according to the WHO, followed by EU countries, Jordan, and Turkey.
When the UK government scheme was announced in August 2023, a senior Whitehall source indicated that up to 300 seriously ill children would be evacuated. Campaigners expressed hope that at least 100 children would be assisted, warning that delays could be fatal.
To date, the number of children evacuated with their immediate families under the UK scheme stands at 50, according to a government spokesperson, who declined to comment on the impact of the WHO’s suspension on the program.
Omar Din, co-founder of Project Pure Hope, who greeted Mariam and her family with a bouquet, expressed gratitude for the children already evacuated under the government scheme.
“We’re hugely grateful that some children have already come over on the government scheme,”
said Din.“I think it would be great for the UK in its tradition of being a charitable and humanitarian-focused country to do more of this work.”
“We’ve certainly done it recently with Ukraine,”
added Din, an NHS primary care healthcare executive.“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t do more of it here.”
