Dutch Cabinet plans evacuation of severely ill Gaza children by early November

The Dutch Cabinet expects that the first possible opportunity to evacuate sick or wounded children from the Gaza Strip to the Netherlands will come at the end of this month or the beginning of next month, according to a letter sent to the Tweede Kamer on Friday by caretaker Foreign Minister David van Weel and State Secretary for Development Cooperation Aukje de Vries, both of the VVD.

The government plans to bring “a few children” to the Netherlands for treatment when adequate medical help is not immediately available in the region.

“To determine which severely ill children qualify for evacuation to the Netherlands, the country relies on the triage conducted by the World Health Organization,” Van Weel and De Vries wrote. Triage is the process of sorting and prioritizing patients based on the severity of their medical condition.

For months, the Dutch Cabinet resisted calls to evacuate children from Gaza, maintaining that its focus should remain on improving humanitarian aid within the region. However, it reversed that position last week.

Despite agreeing to the evacuations, the Cabinet emphasized that it will continue its broader efforts to strengthen medical and humanitarian assistance in Gaza and neighboring areas.