Netherlands to begin Treating Sick Children from Gazaโ Amidst Concerns Aid comes Too Late
UTRECHT, Netherlands – The Dutch government has reversed its previous position and will begin accepting sick children from Gaza for medical treatment, a decision welcomed with cautious optimism by โmedical professionals whoโ fear the delay may already be fatal for many. While the move addresses growing pressure from opposition parties and the VVD’s โown base, doctors emphasize that the scale of theโฃ humanitarian crisis in Gaza demands a far more comprehensive response than treating a limited number of pediatric patients.
The decision comes as Gaza’s healthcare system teeters on the brink of collapse,โค overwhelmedโ by casualties and severely lacking essential resources. For children โคbattling life-threatening illnesses โlike cancer, even โshort delays in treatment can have devastating consequences. “I am simultaneously โpleased by โthis โshift in policy and โขdeeply saddened,immediately thinking of the โgirl who won’t be able to experience this help,” โขstated a physician familiar โฃwith the situation,highlighting the urgency ofโข the โคneed. The limited scope of the initiative – โขbringing only a small number of children to the Netherlands – is unlikely to โฃsignificantly alleviate the broader healthcare crisis in the region.
The Princess Mรกxima center for โคpediatricโ oncology in Utrecht has been preparedโ toโข receive patients for โsome time, possessingโค the capacity to provide critical care. “We have the ability to offer the urgent care needed by several children withโ cancer from Gaza, becauseโ delays in cancer treatment carry ample risks,” a representative โฃfrom the center explained.
Political commentator Joost Vullings attributes the government’s reversal primarily to mounting pressure on theโข VVD from both the opposition โand itsโข own supporters, who advocatedโ for the children’s admission. “Faced with this confluence of pressure, they likely concluded that maintaining their oppositionโ was untenable.”
Despite previous parliamentary votes against treating childrenโข from Gaza, Vullings believes those decisionsโฃ areโ now largely superseded by โขthe cabinet’sโค commitment. “The cabinet hasโ made its decision. It will happenโฃ now; the question is timing. But the first step has been taken.”
