LONDON - A first group of severely ill children from Gaza has arrived in the UK under a scheme allowing them to receive urgent medical treatment, the British government said yesterday.

A cross-government taskforce has spent weeks coordinating the "complex humanitarian operation" to evacuate the children and their immediate families for specialist care under the state-run National Health Service (NHS), it added.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that it had supported the medical evacuations of 10 "critical" children from Gaza to the UK, alongside 50 of their companions.

It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in July that his government would launch the scheme for an unspecified number of children hit by the war.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement yesterday, welcoming the evacuations, that Gaza's healthcare system has been "decimated" and "hospitals are no longer functioning".

She added the children's arrival "reflects our determined commitment to humanitarian action and the power of international cooperation".

"We continue to call for the protection of medical infrastructure and health workers in Gaza, and for a huge increase in medicines and supplies to be allowed in," she said.

The evacuees were first taken to Jordan, where they were supported by British Embassy staff and underwent security checks.

The WHO and Jordanian government supported the UK with the transits, alongside a British emergency medical team and NHS clinical staff.

London has not confirmed how many children have arrived, but said more youngsters and their immediate families were expected in the coming weeks.

The government will not provide operational details about their treatment or whereabouts, citing patient confidentiality.

A small number of injured Gazan children have already been brought to Britain under a private programme, Project Pure Hope.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it was "a soul-destroying situation that compels us to act". -Nampa/AFP