SOME 13 Palestinian children have landed in Spain to receive urgent cancer treatment.
The youngsters, from Gaza, were accompanied by 23 family members when they arrived at Zaragoza Air Base on Wednesday night.
Footage shared by the Health Ministry shows the families exiting the aircraft via a set of stairs, surrounded by health workers wearing face masks.
The Slovak medical plane had flown in from Egypt, according to a press release by the Spanish Health Ministry.
In a statement it said: ‘The children will be transferred by Red Cross ambulances to hospitals in the regions where they will be treated, including Catalonia, the Basque Country, Asturias, and Navarre.
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It said medical experts ‘conducted three days of evaluations on the children to assess their reception to cancer treatment in Spain.’
The heartwarming operation is being carried out via the Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) programme, sponsored by the European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centere and the World Health Organisation.
The government said: ‘The children will complete their diagnosis and treatment at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital and the Sant Joan de Deu Hospital in Barcelona; at the University Hospital of Navarra; the Central University Hospital of Asturias; and the Cruces and Donostia hospitals in the Basque Country.’
Spain is one of the few Western countries to be particularly vocal in its support for Palestine.
Last year it joined Ireland and Norway in recognising Palestine as a nation state, infuriating the government of Israel.
Speaking after the move last May, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said recognising Palestine was ‘not only a matter of historic justice’ but ‘an essential requirement if we are all to achieve peace’.
While he rushed to insist the gesture was not designed as an attack on Israel, this appeared to fall on deaf ears.
The Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz later uploaded a video online showing flamenco dancing and music juxtaposed with explicit images of the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas, writing in the caption: ‘Hamas: thank you Spain.’
The post shared on social media was branded ‘outrageous and revolting’ by Spain.
