News: Relief Across Borders Supports First-Ever Medical Evacuation from Gaza to Ireland
20th December, 2024
On 19 December 2024, Relief Across Borders supported the medical evacuation of eight children and 19 family members from Gaza to Ireland via Egypt for urgent treatment. This life-saving mission was made possible through a collaborative effort between multiple agencies, ensuring the children receive the critical care they desperately need.
The children arrived safely in Dublin on Thursday night, marking a significant milestone in Ireland’s humanitarian response to the crisis in Gaza. The Irish Government approved the evacuation mission in September following an appeal from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The group of children and their companions was accompanied by three medical doctors from the Health Service Executive (HSE) and an Algerian-Irish translator and was welcomed to Ireland by Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Seán Fleming, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, Ambassador of the State of Palestine and Mr Andrej Droba, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic.
We commend the outstanding efforts of the Irish Government and WHO, who spearheaded and facilitated this mission. We also acknowledge the incredible work of the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) who managed the clinical support of the patients, the EU’s Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) who coordinated travel logistics, and the numerous other departments and agencies who provided ancillary support. This includes the Slovakian Government, the Irish Red Cross (IRC), the Irish Consular Service in Cairo, the Gaza Paediatric Care Initiative (GPCI), and the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, all of whom played a vital role in ensuring the safe and successful evacuation of these children.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said:
“I’m pleased that the first medical evacuation of Palestinian children and their carers/guardians to Ireland has now happened, and that the Irish health service is now providing care to these children. I want to offer my sincere thanks to the doctors, nurses, HSE, Irish Red Cross, WHO, the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism, the officials across government departments, and all who have been involved in this successful operation.
“There is no justification for the deliberate attacks on civilians and healthcare services in Gaza and the loss of life has been devastating. Ireland has been clear that this conflict should stop. I’m pleased that Ireland is playing a part in treating children whose lives have been devastated by this needless war and I wish these children well in their time ahead here in Ireland.”
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said:
“The long-term impact of the physical and mental scars being inflicted on children in Gaza is unconscionable. Ireland has continued to work with our international partners, most notably UNRWA, to provide urgent assistance to people in Gaza. The medical evacuation of children to Ireland is part of our consistent support for the people of Palestine. I am conscious that many other critically ill patients remain in Gaza, and their requests for medical evacuation are being delayed or denied by Israeli authorities. This denial of medical care is unacceptable and must stop. Since the beginning of this conflict, Ireland has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a massive surge of humanitarian aid, including urgent medical care for critically ill children trapped in Gaza. This must happen. Children in Gaza cannot go into the New Year facing more serious injury and trauma.”
It is estimated that Ireland will receive up to 30 paediatric patients in total from Gaza. The health needs are categorised under cancer, haemodialysis and patients with other severe medical conditions (except for orthopaedics to ensure there is no impact on HSE efforts to increase the number of procedures being carried out in this speciality). Ireland will continue to opt in on a case-by-case basis for each child who requires treatment, subject to the necessary capacity being available at that time.
Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora Seán Fleming said:
“I am pleased to welcome these Gazan children and their families to Ireland. They have come from unimaginably difficult circumstances, and the children all require urgent and serious medical treatment. I want to thank Egypt, Slovakia, Italy, the European Commission and the World Health Organisation for helping us to make this evacuation happen. I also want to thank our expert medical teams in Ireland, and the Irish Red Cross, who will help these children and their families on the road to recovery. Children continue to bear the brunt of the war in Gaza. The UN estimates that children account for almost half of all people killed. Children who have so far survived the bombardment face life-changing injury, illness and trauma. Over 4,000 children a month in Gaza are being treated for acute malnutrition.”
Under this initiative the children and their families are housed in accommodation managed by the IRC. The care package being provided includes caseworker and translation services to ensure that the patients and their carers are well looked after and have assistance in accessing all services as needed. In addition, the HSE will provide appropriate psycho-social assessment for both patients and carers. All patients and carers received health screening prior to travel.
Minister Donnelly and his officials have spent months working on the medical evacuation alongside the HSE, the Irish Red Cross (IRC) and other government departments, including the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Social Protection. The HSE is acting in a central coordination role across all required services/service providers from the patients’ arrival and travel to hospital or accommodation as appropriate. The Department of Justice has co-ordinated visa requirements for the children and their carers and families, while the Department of Social Protection is involved in access to welfare and other supports. In addition, the Irish Consular service in Cairo have also assisted the medical evacuation, including assistance with clearance of identity documents.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said:
“I am deeply grateful to all those involved in the evacuation of these sick and injured children and will continue to assist the Minister for Health in fulfilling this initiative. While no child should be forced to flee their home, I warmly welcome their safe arrival, and I know that the care they will now receive will be transformative for them.”
Ireland’s response to the crisis in Gaza has included significant humanitarian funding and the provision of in-kind assistance. A significant proportion of this funding supports the delivery of essential services including healthcare in Gaza and neighbouring countries. Ireland has provided €40 million in humanitarian assistance since last October. This includes €20 million provided in February for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) the main agency unpinning all humanitarian efforts (including healthcare delivery) in Gaza. Irish support to UNRWA, WHO, Red Cross and through the EU ensures that healthcare continues to be delivered in Gaza even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Notes
As an EU Member State, Ireland was been asked to respond to this request from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to assist in addressing the current health needs in Gaza. Ireland has a strong tradition of providing humanitarian assistance including through the Department of Foreign Affairs Irish Aid humanitarian and development assistance programme and the HSE Global Health Programme.
Procedures for medical evacuations to Ireland are well established in the Ukraine context. Medical evacuation requests are managed through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), with the HSE managing the clinical support of the injured patient and other departments and agencies responding to the ancillary support needs as above.
The services of the EU’s Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) were used for the transfer from Egypt to Ireland and Dublin Airport was the point of arrival.
In April 2024, the World Health Organisation (WHO) requested support from the EU to medically evacuate Palestinian patients to Europe through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). The WHO has since submitted a list of 1,400 Gazan patients through the UCPM, of which about 1,100 are in Egypt and about 300 are still in Gaza. WHO recently advised they plan to add 685 to the Egypt list. Ten states (including Ireland) have offered treatment and/or transport through the UCPM since the initial request. Sixty-five patients and 163 relatives have been evacuated to five states so far – Spain, Italy, Germany, Romania, Belgium and Norway.
The World Health Organisation is present on the ground in Gaza and coordinated the evacuation of Gazan patients in Egypt in close cooperation with the Egyptian government. Egyptian hospitals have accommodated since 1st November 2023 close to 6,000 severely injured and chronic Palestinian citizens evacuated from Gaza, as well as almost 10,000 companions who were evacuated with them. They have completed 2,600 advanced surgical interventions and more than 89,600 medical check-ups for more than 100,000 people. They are currently accommodating 2,000 injured and chronic Palestinian patients, as well as more than 4,000 companions in their hospitals.
For those within Gaza, there is an exceptionally low rate of approval by Israel/COGAT for medevac requests - about 85% of requests are denied, with young men in particular being denied access to essential healthcare. Some denials involve very young children, or the children are approved but not their guardian. This results in a very low number of patients in Gaza available for medevac offers from EU Member States.
Ireland has provided over €62 million in support of the Palestinian people since the beginning of 2023. Of this, more than €50 million has been provided in humanitarian and development assistance since October 2023. This includes €38 million in core support to UNRWA, as well funds to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), WFP and other vital partners. Through Ireland’s Rapid Response Initiative, 116 tonnes of relief supplies, including family tents, tarpaulins, blankets, water cans and hygiene kits were provided to the Catholic Relief Services, who distributed them to displaced families in Gaza by. Ireland also provided three pallets of medical blood through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) for the Egyptian health authorities.