Spain receives 15 children from Gaza in need of advanced medical treatment

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Spain welcomed 15 sick children from Gaza on Wednesday night, who will receive specialized medical treatment in hospitals in the country.

The children, aged three to 17, were accompanied by 25 family members. One of their mothers will also receive urgent medical care.

Thirteen of the minors have complex injuries, one has a chronic heart condition, and one is living with cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which helped arrange their journey.

The children had all been in Egyptian hospitals for the past several months.

They were among the 5,000 people to have evacuated since the war broke out last October.

However, since May 6, when Israeli forces took control of and closed the Rafah crossing, only 23 people have been evacuated via the Kerem Shalom crossing, according to WHO.

The organization estimates that 10,000 more people still need to be evacuated from Gaza.

“These children are just the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of people of all ages still remain in Gaza who need to be medically evacuated and are at risk of dying if they are unable to quickly access the advanced medical care they need,” said Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, in a statement.

At the same time, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked Spain and Egypt for their help.

“We encourage other countries who have the capacity and medical facilities to welcome people who, through no fault of their own, are caught in the grips of this war,” he said, lamenting: “The fact that severely ill people are receiving needed medical care should not be headline news, but routine global cooperation.”

Besides receiving sick children from Gaza, Spain has taken a leading role within the EU in criticizing Israel’s assault on the occupied Palestinian territory. In May, Spain officially recognized Palestine as a sovereign state.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 39,000 people have been killed and nearly 90,000 have been injured during the Israeli assault on the small territory.

On Wednesday, UNICEF denounced the current humanitarian situation there as “beyond catastrophic” with children being reinjured, medical staff without resources, and humanitarian agencies and aid being blocked from entering.

“Thousands of boys and girls sick, hungry, injured, or separated from their families. The violence and deprivation are leaving permanent scars on their vulnerable bodies and minds,” said the United Nation’s Children’s Fund.

The WHO, UNICEF and Spain are all calling for an urgent cease-fire and end to the war.