THE British government is facing a legal challenge over its failure to evacuate critically ill children from Gaza.

Legal firm Leigh Day have sent a pre-action letter on behalf of three children who are being denied urgent medical care.

Access to treatment is impossible for them in war-ravaged Gaza, where the World Health Organisation reports that 94 per cent of hospitals have been damaged or destroyed. 

Children Not Numbers, which helps arrange medical treatment for children in Gaza, says 60 of those it supported have died from treatable conditions while awaiting evacuation.

The letter argues that the government has failed to take into account the inadequate treatment options available in Gaza before deciding not to pursue evacuations.

It notes that by contrast, Britain medically evacuated 21 children with cancer from Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in March 2022. 

EU countries have meanwhile taken steps to facilitate the medical evacuations of 223 patients to date. Britain however, has refused to offer any assistance so far.

One child, aged two, is believed to have a condition called arteriovenous malformation in his cheek, resulting in daily bleeding. 

The child’s family say that it has not been possible to properly stabilise his condition, which puts him at constant risk of catastrophic bleeding, which can be deadly.

The two other children are five-year-old siblings who have been diagnosed with cystinosis nephropathy, a chronic condition also known as leaky kidney.

They now have chronic kidney disease, which has been identified as “life threatening.” One of the siblings is no longer able to move.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that at least 41 per cent of kidney patients have died since October 2023 due to restricted access to dialysis services.

Carolin Ott, an senior associate solicitor for Leigh Day, the law firm representing the families, said: “It is reported that the UK government has explained its failure to facilitate medical evacuations from Gaza on the basis that it supports treatment options in Gaza and the surrounding region and that there are visas available for privately funded medical treatment in the UK. 

“However, these mechanisms are profoundly inadequate to meet the urgent needs of children in Gaza.

“Without the option of evacuation to the UK, many Gazan children — including Y, S and S — will continue to face serious harm and possibly death due to the unavailability of the treatment they desperately need.”

Kate Takes, a solicitor for Children Not Numbers, who are supporting the case, said: “Our international and on-the-ground medics work tirelessly to think of ways to provide some form of treatment and stabilise the children we support but, without the necessary resources, expertise and nutrition there are significant limits to what can be done.”

The Foreign Office was contacted for comment regarding the case.

Today, Foreign Secretary David Lammy suggested that Israel could face further sanctions from Britain if it does not agree to a ceasefire.

Mr Lammy, who rubbed shoulders with his Israeli counterpart at a private meeting in April, told the BBC he is “appalled” and “sickened” by Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Israeli forces have begun a ground operation targeting Deir al-Balah, the main hub for humanitarian efforts in the enclave.

Asked by ITV what more he planned to do if Israel did not agree to end the conflict, the Foreign Secretary said: “There will be more [sanctions], clearly, and we keep all of those options under consideration if we do not see a change in behaviour and the suffering that we are seeing come to an end.”

In response, Stop the War wrote on X: “Your media round this morning was nothing but weak statements of mild mannered measures and some performative hand-wringing. 

“It’s been 20 months. For as long as you continue arming Israel, you cannot wash the blood of Palestinian children from those hands.”