Israeli PM blocks hospital for sick Gaza children in Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blocked plans for a field hospital in Israel to treat sick and injured children from Gaza, according to reports.

The site was announced earlier this week by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as a temporary measure to provide treatment while the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt remains closed to civilians.

On Thursday, the prime minister's office said he had not approved a hospital on Israeli territory and that it would not go ahead.

Since the conflict began last year, there have been numerous reports and widespread international concern about its impact on children and the number suffering serious physical injuries.

Mr Gallant said the temporary hospital would be used to address the most urgent humanitarian needs until a permanent system for the evacuation and treatment of sick children could be established.

He said it would treat those suffering with conditions including cancer, diabetes, and orthopaedic injuries.

However, on Thursday the Mr Netanyahu's office announced that he "does not approve the establishment of a hospital for Gazans within Israeli territory - therefore, it will not be established".

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that the defence ministry had asked the prime minister's office to help speed up the evacuation of patients from Gaza two weeks ago.

"No response was received, so the minister issued an order to the army to establish a field hospital within Israeli territory as an immediate solution for sick children," they said.

Mr Netanyahu's military secretary Major General Roman Gofman told the Ynet news site that there had not been enough progress in creating a corridor for transporting sick and injured Gazans to other countries and this was why the hospital did not go ahead.

The episode is just the latest sign of tension in the Israeli government to show in recent months.

In May, Mr Gallant, a member of Mr Netanyahu's Likud party, voiced open frustration at the government’s failure to set out plans for how Gaza would be governed after the conflict.

Last month, opposition figure Benny Gantz quit the country's war cabinet in protest at Mr Netanyahu's handling of the war.

The current conflict began following the 7 October attack, which saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage.

The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 38,848 people have so far been killed and 89,459 injured in Gaza.

In April, British surgeon Dr Victoria Rose, who had been working in Gaza, told the BBC that a "huge amount" of the operations she had carried out had been on children under 16, including many under six.

She said she had treated people with bullet wounds and burns and that a lack of food available in Gaza meant patients were not strong enough to heal properly.