This afternoon 15 children from Gaza have landed at the base of Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), accompanied by their families. Most of them are injured or have serious health problems, following Israeli attacks on the Strip. This is the first time that the European Union has coordinated such a medical evacuation.

They travel from Cairo to be treated in Spain. According to information from the Ministry of Inclusion, 13 of them are injured by the effects of the Israeli offensive on Gaza. Another of the minors is a cancer patient, while the last has a chronic heart disease.

At the air base, the children and their families were received by the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, together with the Minister of Health, Mónica García, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and the Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego.

Also, at the military center, personnel from the Ministry of Health, the Secretariat of Migration and the Accem organization They have made a first assessment to detect urgent health needs. In addition, each family has received food and drink, as well as basic necessities.

After this first welcome, the families, They will have a temporary stay visa for humanitarian aid for 90 days and will be accompanied to a temporary facility, where they can rest before being transferred to their final destinations in the host state.

Most of these children will be cared for in the Basque CountryFive of them will go to the San Sebastian University Hospital, while another five will go to the Cruces University Hospital in Baracaldo. Two of them will be treated at the Central University Hospital of Asturias in Oviedo and another two will go to the General University Hospital of Toledo. One of them will also be treated in Pamplona, ​​where he will be at the University Hospital of Navarra. And the last one will be treated at the Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid.

The decision to bring them to Spain is part of the European MEDEVAC device. This is activated when a country faces a disaster that exceeds its response capacity and requires civil protection, medical assistance or help from experts from participating countries.

This is not the first time that our country has participated in this device, Spain was already part of it serve patients from Ukraine and Moldova.

Likewise, the Ministry of Health calls on other European countries to join in the welcome of Gazan minors through this procedure.