Sick Palestinian kids find hope in Irish healthcare

Seven kids arriving to receive care delayed by war

- BY DANNY DE VAAL

THE images of destruction from Gaza emerging as the tentative ceasefire has taken hold have left many wondering how any human life has been sustained there.

But for those who were sick before the conflict began, survival has been a miracle.

This weekend seven sick children from the Strip whose treatment was interrupted by war, landed in Ireland as part of a World Health Organization initiative to kickstart the treatment they were denied during two years of war.

The group arrived with 29 accompanying adult family members. They are among an estimated 10,000 Gazan kids in urgent need of medical evacuation.

Niall O'Keeffe, head of International and Migration with the Irish Red Cross, described the complex operation to bring the critically ill children from Gaza to Ireland. The operation involved close coordination between Children's Health Ireland, the Department of Health, other government departments, and the World Health Organization on the ground in Gaza.