Van Hollen Joins Welch, Colleagues in Call for Expedited Evacuations of Children with Complex Medical Needs from Gaza

This week, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and 12 of their colleagues in urging Michael Herzog, Ambassador of Israel to the United States, and Motaz Zahran, Ambassador of Egypt to the United States, to help Palestinian children who are critically ill and injured leave Gaza safely to seek medical treatment, and increase access to life-saving medical treatments in Gaza for children in-need. 

“While people disagree about the war in Gaza, everyone should agree that no government should prevent injured children access to potentially life-saving medical care. Rather, governments should be doing everything possible to assist in this situation,” wrote the senators. 

“We have called on our own government to do its part in facilitating safe passage for these children. Our goal is to cooperate with your governments, consistent with your security concerns, to maximize safe passage and increase access to life-saving medical treatment for children in need. We understand some progress has been made, with a number of children in need of cancer treatment being moved out of Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, in cooperation with the World Health Organization,” continued the senators. “We are encouraged by this development as a very positive first step. We must all treat the welfare of children in Gaza as an urgent humanitarian priority and work together to prevent further suffering.”  

The Senators also requested meetings with the Ambassadors to further discuss how to facilitate safe passage for more children and their accompanying parent or caregiver to have access to the medical treatment they desperately need, and is available, if passage is allowed. 

In addition to Senators Van Hollen and Welch, the letter was signed by Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).  

Read the full letter here or below. 

Dear Ambassador Herzog and Ambassador Zahran,

We write to convey our shared concern with the situation facing critically ill and injured Palestinian children whose medical and surgical needs can only be met with safe passage out of Gaza to neighboring countries where treatment is available.

While people disagree about the war in Gaza, everyone should agree that no government should prevent injured children access to potentially life-saving medical care. Rather, governments should be doing everything possible to assist in this situation. We have called on our own government to do its part in facilitating safe passage for these children. Our goal is to cooperate with your governments, consistent with your security concerns, to maximize safe passage and increase access to life-saving medical treatment for children in need. We understand some progress has been made, with a number of children in need of cancer treatment being moved out of Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, in cooperation with the World Health Organization. We are encouraged by this development as a very positive first step. We must all treat the welfare of children in Gaza as an urgent humanitarian priority and work together to prevent further suffering.

We request an opportunity to meet with you for further discussion of how we can work together to facilitate safe passage for more children and their accompanying parent or caregiver to have access to the medical treatment they desperately need and is available if passage is allowed.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,