Israel's Netanyahu blocks plan to send 150 sick Gaza children for treatment abroad

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly denied plans allowing around 150 sick Palestinians children from Gaza to seek medical treatment overseas, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

The decision comes after a deadly strike hitting the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed at least 12 children between the ages of 10 and 16 in the town of Majdal Shams on Saturday.

The Israeli broadcaster Kan said on Sunday that "a group of sick children were supposed to leave from Gaza to the United Arab Emirates via Israel on Monday, but after the Majdal Shams incident, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered their departure to be postponed".

The sick Palestinian children were supposed to depart via the Ramon airbase in the Naqab (Negev) desert to the Gulf country, with whom Israel normalised diplomatic relations amid the controversial Abraham Accords in 2020.

The broadcaster failed to mention whether a new date allowing for the sick children to go to the UAE for medical treatment had been set or not.

Over 40 people were also injured after the strike in the Golan Heights hit a football field in the Druze-majority town, where children and teenagers were playing.

Israel has blamed the attack on Hezbollah, though the Lebanese group denied any involvement, pointing the finger at Israel.

Netanyahu’s decision comes as the Israeli premier blocked plans for a field hospital in Israel with the aim of treating Gaza’s sick and wounded children earlier this month.

Defence Minister Yoav announced plans for a temporary hospital treating children suffering with conditions  including cancer, diabetes, and orthopaedic injuries.

Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli premier "didn't approve of a plan to establish the site", and therefore won't go ahead.

Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, both children and adults, are increasingly requiring urgent medical care since Israel closed and took control over the territory’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt in May.

Thousands are suffering from cancer, war-induced injuries, malnutrition and other chronic illnesses.

In June, Gaza’s health ministry said only 4,895 Palestinians were allowed to leave the war-hit territory to access medical treatment overseas, out of roughly 25,000 critical cases.

Also in June, the World Health Organisation (WHO) condemned Israel’s 'abrupt halt' in granting medical evacuations to Gaza’s most vulnerable, in the wake of the Rafah crossing's closure.

Israel has been carrying out a fierce military offensive in the Gaza Strip since 7 October, killing at least 39,363 Palestinians since amid atrocities labelled as genocide by leading NGOs, UN agencies and world leaders.

The territory’s healthcare system has collapsed over the months as a result of Israel’s war. Only 15 hospitals have been declared as partially functioning, with 24 put of 36 hospitals officially out of service.