https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgm24l2dxjzo

Stormont's first and deputy first ministers are "close" to an agreement

Jayne McCormack BBC News NI political correspondent

18 August 2025, 08:44 BST Updated 50 minutes ago

Stormont's first and deputy first ministers have granted the Department of Health approval to join a UK-wide scheme allowing urgent medical treatment for children from Gaza.

It is understood Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly have agreed by way of "urgent procedure" to enable Northern Ireland's participation in the initiative.

A Stormont source told BBC News NI that a "very modest number" of children – possibly two or three – would be brought to NI under the medical evacuation.

There is no date yet for this to start, but a group of between 30 and 50 critically ill and injured Palestinian children are expected to be evacuated from Gaza to the UK for medical treatment in the coming weeks.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt had previously expressed his support for the scheme.

The urgent procedure mechanism would mean the plan is not required to go to the whole executive for approval.

TUV leader Jim Allister said while it was "right" that Northern Ireland participates in a UK-wide scheme, he did not want those coming here to "acquire residency rights".

"When they come for treatment they have their treatment, and they return because the UK cannot take any more asylum seekers or migrants.

"It's a small number of kids but my key point is they come, they get the treatment and they return – there must be no residency rights attaching to this."

Sinn Féin MLA, Declan Kearney said the executive should assist in the efforts to evacuate sick and injured children from Gaza.

"The humanitarian emergency in Gaza is beyond anything witnessed in recent times. Starvation, malnutrition and denial of access to both water and basic medicines are being systematically used against children, women and men throughout the Gaza Strip," he said.

The South Antrim MLA added: "The inhumane blockade must end immediately and an unprecedented flood of humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter the Strip."

The Executive Office and the Department of Health have both been contacted for comment.

Severely ill Palestinians have been evacuated from Gaza to other countries since the start of the war, including more than 180 adults and children to Italy.

The UN has warned of widespread malnutrition in Gaza, with experts backed by the organisation warning in a report last month that the "worst-case scenario" of famine is playing out in Gaza.

Israel has insisted there are no restrictions on aid deliveries into Gaza, and has accused the UN and other aid agencies of failing to deliver it.

More than 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military operation began, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel launched its offensive in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

by spectacle-ar_failure

18 comments

  2. The Republic is doing it too, Hamas were always pieces of shit but the longer this war goes on the worse it will be for the Israelis but at least Netanyahu and his fucked up far right govt gets to stay in power, as long as the tanks keep rolling. .

  3. I support this, but let’s look at the absurdity of it all.

    We (the UK) spend govt money on “defence” in order to use the RAF to fly reconnaissance missions over Gaza, for Israel … so that Israel can then drop bombs on Palestinian children, … so that we (the UK) can again spend govt money on treating the victims in our hospitals.

  5. The waiting lists are shocking. Will probably have to wait years.

    “While the exact number of deaths on NHS waiting lists in Northern Ireland is not consistently reported in a single, easily accessible figure, data indicates that thousands of people die annually while waiting for treatment. For example, one report stated that over 17,000 people died while on a waiting list in the three years leading up to August 2022. Another report revealed that more than 22,000 people died while waiting for treatment since 2014. The situation is further complicated by the fact that some individuals may be on multiple waiting lists, and waiting times are significantly longer in Northern Ireland compared to other parts of the UK. “

  6. Last week DUP’s Jonathan Buckley said NI shouldn’t accept injured children from Gaza because the, sorry “**OUR**” NHS was so overstretched.

    [https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/p0lvmcld](https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/p0lvmcld)

    ^ Worth a listen to hear the most weasley self centred excuses for lack of basic humanity / charity towards children from a war-torn hellscape the UK helped create.

    Worth remembering some of the loudest objections are almost always from the so-called Christians.

    If it’s actually true that the, sorry “**OUR”** NHS / HSC can’t cope with the addition of literally single digit children from a warzone, and they aren’t simply being refused as part of a perpetually racist / anti-immigration dog-whistle policy by Unionists, then it’s irrefutable proof that the HSC is ruined beyond repair. It’s an absolutely dire sign of complete failure.

  9. The festering evil and stupidity that drives someone to demand that a patient – a child – receiving life-saving treatment is sent straight back to the warzone afterwards.

  10. Why not just go to hospital in Egypt or Jordan ? This makes no sense.

  12. Pretty sure the concerned locals will take an issue with this.

  13. I completely support this. Also, stop the genocide and stop arms to Israel

  14. Wee red Jim never misses an opportunity to be a cunt

  15. Healthcare system barely looks after residents… But for Palestinians we give them everything

  16. As always I look forward to the comments section being entirely rational about wanting to help innocent and mutilated children recover from the physical and emotional damage of a one-sided campaign of genocide and not just devolving into racist soundbites.

  18. This is a beautiful thing.. however I feel for anyone that’s been sitting on a waiting list for donkeys, you simply aren’t PR worthy.

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