LONDON

A group of critically ill and injured Gaza children has been brought to the UK for urgent medical treatment, the British government said on Wednesday.

Severely ill children from Gaza who require urgent medical treatment recently arrived safely in Britain with their immediate families, the government said in a statement.

It added that more patients and their immediate families are expected in the coming weeks.

"As part of the Gaza medical evacuation operation, these young patients are now receiving the urgent medical care they need at NHS hospitals, while their immediate family members are getting appropriate support during their stay," read the statement.

The children and their immediate family members were evacuated from Gaza to Jordan, where they were supported by British Embassy staff.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: "No one can fail to be distressed by the devastating impact the war has had on the children of Gaza, and I cannot imagine the fear and anguish their families have endured."

For her part, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that the UK continues to call for the protection of medical infrastructure and health workers in Gaza and for a huge increase in medicines and supplies to be allowed in.

Earlier Monday, it was reported that two Gaza children and their families had arrived in Scotland for treatment.

It came after Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray pledged to support the health needs of up to 20 young patients.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry on Wednesday, the Israeli army targeted Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital in Gaza City late Tuesday in three separate strikes.

The Israeli army has killed almost 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.