Baby Sadeel got out of Gaza - but dozens more critically ill children await immediate evacuation

The 10-month-old is critically sick, visibly struggling and separated from her mother who was breastfeeding her, ITV News Correspondent Rachel Younger reports.

Produced by Roohi Hasan.

As we received images of Sadeel Hamdan from Gaza and Egypt, it is hard at first to see how she is one of the lucky ones.

The 11-month-old is critically sick, visibly struggling and separated from her mother who was breastfeeding her.

However, Sadeel has been granted a rare evacuation from Gaza on medical grounds, with her father Tamer.

This comes almost 10 months since the conflict began, with the number of children reported injured in Gaza from Israeli fire reaching more than 12,000.

Many more are chronically sick and now deteriorating due to the siege and hundreds remain critical awaiting evacuation.

Sadeel’s evacuation followed ITV News reporting on her story in early June.

She was diagnosed with cirrhosis weeks into the war and whose life without a transplant was being measured in days. 

But in Gaza where hospitals are barely functioning, all doctors could do was keep draining her abdomen.

Her journey from Gaza to Egypt through Israel was recorded for us by the British run charity Children Not Numbers, along with her doctors and family.

The charity worked tirelessly for months with other stakeholders and fundraised to evacuate her from Gaza.

But they could not get her mother out, who is breastfeeding Sadeel, as Israel only allows one parent to leave with a critically ill child.

That has increased calls for more desperately ill Palestinian children and their parents to be allowed to leave Gaza for life-saving help.

Somaya Ouzzani and Sarah Ben-Tarifite, co-founders of Children not Numbers, told ITV News dozens more need immediate evacuation.

"We continue to struggle with treating and stabilising very chronically sick and critically injured children in Gaza," Ms Ouzzani said.

"Without at scale, frequent, and predictable medical evacuations via safe humanitarian corridors, the death toll and amputation rate will continue to rise uncontrollably."

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Ms Ben-Tarifite said: "The dire situation on the ground cannot be overstated. Over 8,000 children in Gaza have died, more than 13,000 are injured, and over 20,000 children are missing.

"These are not just statistics; they represent young lives, families torn apart, and futures abruptly ended. The need for medical care and humanitarian assistance is immense."

In a rare interview, medical human rights organisation Physicians for Human Rights Israel told ITV News the message for their government is to allow these children out to receive lifesaving treatment not available with Gaza’s healthcare system destroyed. 

ITV News approached the Israeli authorities, who said: "The State of Israel, through COGAT, works tirelessly to allow and facilitate humanitarian measures for the residents of the Gaza Strip. Our conflict is with Hamas, not the residents of Gaza.   

"As part of these efforts, the State of Israel is also collaborating with international organizations and countries to explore options that would allow patients with complex medical conditions, who require treatment outside the Gaza Strip, to travel to third countries, subject to security checks."

However in the last 24 hours, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced that the upcoming evacuation of 150 critically sick Gazan children for treatment in the UAE will be postponed following the events in Lebanon. 

Physicians for Human Rights Israel called the delay "cruel and dangerous".

"The immense grief over the 12 children killed in Majdal Shams must not be exploited for cynical political moves. Endangering sick Gazan children won't bring back those lost in northern Israel," it said.

As Sadeel’s parents and doctors and the charity tensely await her recovery, hundreds more parents count the days waiting to hear if their child can be evacuated for life saving treatment too. 

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