The UK-based charity " Children Not Numbers " told The New Arab that the British government committed to receiving an additional group of sick and injured Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip, along with their families.
Children Not Numbers co-founder and co-director Sumaya Al-Wazzani told TNA that the commitment came during a recent meeting with UK Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The meeting followed a request from the organisation, which, Al-Wazzani noted, offered the British government "to work with it to help guide the patient selection process" for those nominated to benefit from medical evacuation from the Gaza Strip .
Children Not Numbers consists of a large medical team with extensive experience, alongside some specialists in the Gaza Strip who work within its medical evacuation programme.
Al-Wazzani said Falconer "confirmed the United Kingdom's commitment to evacuating a new group of sick children and their families from the Gaza Strip", adding that the minister "did not specify the number of children or the timeframe" for the evacuation.
The minister highlighted that the United Kingdom "received 50 children and their families from the Gaza Strip in 2025".
Al-Wazzani told TNA that she informed the UK minister for the Middle East that the organisation is currently caring for 61 children who are in urgent need of immediate medical intervention .
She conveyed warnings from specialist doctors that 10 of those children could die if they do not receive the necessary treatment within six weeks.
She added that Falconer told her British authorities are also considering the status of potential carers for those children as part of the review of candidates for medical evacuation from the Gaza Strip.
The director also noted she explained during the meeting with Falconer that the cost of continuing to operate medical corridors to transfer injured and sick children from the Gaza Strip to Jordan has become increasingly expensive.
She added that it is "very difficult" to keep those corridors operating without additional financial support, stressing that the British government "can, and indeed has a duty to, provide more assistance through its humanitarian programmes funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office".
The UK Minister for the Middle East described the meeting, held on Monday, 6 July, as "important".
In a post on X, he praised Children Not Numbers for carrying out "vital work" on the ground in the Gaza Strip .
Falconer also pledged that the United Kingdom would continue "supporting healthcare in the Gaza Strip" and "pressing Israel to allow vital healthcare supplies into it".
In a related development, TNA sent questions to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regarding the measures the United Kingdom is taking to ensure that Israeli authorities allow essential medical supplies into the Gaza Strip, but has yet to receive a response.
The department also did not answer a question about why it is not exerting pressure to compel Israel to halt the hostilities that its forces continue to wage in the Gaza Strip, despite nearly nine months having passed since the alleged ceasefire came into effect.
Children Not Numbers faces significant difficulty in addressing what it describes as "major gaps in paediatric medical facilities" in countries neighbouring Palestine.
For example, it notes that paediatric liver transplant services are not yet available in Jordan.
Al-Wazzani expressed her sadness that the organisation receives many children who "have died or are dying" because they need to be evacuated to countries with specialist paediatric organ transplant centres.
She cited the United Kingdom as "an excellent example" of a country that could help save the lives of Gaza children at risk .
British non-practising lawyer Sumaya Al-Wazzani founded Children Not Numbers with fellow British lawyer Sarah Ben Trevett in March 2024 to support Palestinian children affected by the Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
The organisation has more than 100 members from more than 15 countries, most of whom are volunteers, including doctors, mental health specialists and lawyers.
On its official website, the organisation states that "more than 65% of our volunteers come from medical backgrounds", adding, "We are committed to meeting the diverse needs of Gaza's children."
It also says that "every member of our team contributes unique expertise and unwavering dedication to our mission", stressing that "everyone works together to ensure every child receives the support and care they deserve ".
Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .