The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and other health organisations have written to the UK foreign secretary asking for action to protect children and healthcare workers in Gaza.
The RCN is a signatory on the letter alongside the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the International Child Health Group, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Physicians.
“Every child has the right to survive and thrive, even in the most challenging of circumstances”
Letter from health organisations
They have requested an urgent meeting with foreign secretary David Lammy to discuss their concerns regarding the “ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza”.
The letter is focused on the impact of the Israel-Palestine conflict on children, but also highlights the issue of attacks on healthcare workers.
It comes after the RCN has faced pressure in recent months to do more to speak out about the humanitarian crisis.
The war is currently centred in the Gaza Strip and people in the area are suffering from a lack of medical supplies, food, water and fuel, according to the World Health Organization.
In their letter to Mr Lammy, the health leaders said the UK government had a responsibility to “take all possible steps to help bring an end to this devastating conflict”.
They warned: “The severe restrictions on humanitarian aid and effects of violence on Gazan children are catastrophic, denying them access to the basic means of survival, including food, clean water, shelter and medical care, alongside causing injury, psychological trauma and death.
“We must all uphold the international commitments we have made to protect and promote the rights of children.
“These rights are not optional – they are fundamental. Every child has the right to survive and thrive, even in the most challenging of circumstances.”
They urged the UK government to intervene by pressing for the safe passage of food and aid into Gaza, a permanent ceasefire and the return of all hostages taken during the conflict.
They also wanted the government to help facilitate the transportation of sick children out of Gaza to access treatment in other countries, including the UK.
In addition, they said ministers needed to take action to uphold international laws that prevent healthcare workers and facilities being targeted by military attacks.
A draft resolution making many of the same calls as those in the letter was put forward at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.
The resolution was backed by the UK by failed to pass because it was vetoed by the US.
When approached for a response to the letter, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office pointed Nursing Times to a statement made by Mr Lammy on 20 May and another made by Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, on Wednesday.
In his statement, Mr Lammy condemned Israel’s restriction of aid and food into Gaza and announced that the UK had suspended trade talks with the country’s government as a result.
He also repeated the UK government’s demand on the Palestinian group Hamas to release all Israeli hostages.
While reaffirming support for Israel’s right to self-defence, Mr Lammy said the mass displacement of Gazans was “morally unjustifiable, wholly disproportionate and utterly counter-productive”.
He said the UK government continued to back the two-state solution as a way to resolve the conflict, which would see an independent Palestinian state established alongside the existing one of Israel.
Meanwhile, in his statement, Mr Falconer set out the investment made by the UK to support the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
He also said the UK would continue to back efforts made to secure a ceasefire, following the collapse of the one agreed in January.
More on the Middle East conflict
