GENEVA 

The Zurich cantonal government has decided not to take in injured children from Gaza, citing security concerns and the high cost of care, according to local media.

The decision followed an earlier proposal by Health Director Natalie Rickli from the right-wing Swiss People's Party, who had already expressed her opposition to admitting the children at the beginning of October. A petition launched by the Social Democratic Party with 42,000 signatures has not changed her stance.

According to the Zurich government, the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA reported Wednesday, possible connections between some individuals and the Palestinian group Hamas or other organizations "could not be ruled out."

It said the admission of the children and their escorts, therefore, posed "incalculable risks."

Authorities also pointed to the "considerable effort" required for the medical and psychological care of the injured children, according to the report. Around 100 accompanying persons would also be granted permanent humanitarian asylum, giving them access to health and social benefits, as well as the right to family reunification later.

The government said taking in 20 children would amount to a "symbolic and arbitrary gesture with limited effect," adding that funds would be better spent helping people directly in Gaza.

The decision was welcomed by the center-right Radical Liberal Party and the Swiss People's Party, which said they had stood firm against a "potentially dangerous symbolic policy" initiated by federal ministers Beat Jans and Elisabeth Baume-Schneider from the Social Democratic Party, and Martin Pfister from the Centre Party.

Seven children from the Gaza Strip have been receiving treatment in Swiss hospitals since Friday. They are being treated in pediatric hospitals in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Ticino, Basel-Stadt, Lucerne, and St. Gallen. Another 13 children and their relatives are expected to arrive in November.

According to the World Health Organization, 700 people have died while waiting for medical evacuation in Gaza. Meanwhile, 15,000 patients, including 4,000 children, require treatment outside the territory.