Germany 'blocking' medical treatment for Palestinian children from Gaza

German aid organisations have accused the government of blocking much-needed medical help for severely wounded children from Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 38,000 people since last October.

Around 40 medical facilities agreed to treat children from Gaza in Germany and cover the costs, but the foreign and interior ministries have hindered their efforts citing alleged security concerns, according to public broadcaster ARD on Friday.

Aid organisations such as the Cologne-based Refugees Foundation, together with other NGOs and the German Society for Plastic Surgery, had committed to medical help for these children for months.

They organised donations for flights, visa applications and the full reimbursement of hospital expenses.

But ultimately the campaign was stopped temporarily because the ministries did not support the entry of one accompanying adult per child.

Some children awaiting treatment died

German government circles were quoted as saying that the mother or father of the wounded Palestinians children accompanying them for medical treatment could pose a "security threat" as they may support or sympathise with Hamas, the Palestinian group involved in the October 7 cross-border incursion in Israel.

Reacting to this government position, Daniela Neuendorf from the Refugees Foundation said:

"It is simply inexplicable to me why other countries can manage this and why we in Germany capitulate to somehow bring in 20 children with accompanying persons for three months."

She said European countries such as Italy had already taken in children from Gaza with accompanying adults.

German aid organisations and hospitals still hope that their campaign to treat Palestinians children will not ultimately fail.

They are said to be in talks with the ministries to see whether accompanying persons can be allowed to enter the country in exceptional cases.

Negotiations with the German authorities have been going on for several months, and the list of children who are to be evacuated has changed repeatedly.

Aid organisations say some of the injured children waiting to arrive have already died.