A total of 51 other people are accompanying the minors, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said on Friday evening. The children and their relatives were transported by plane from Amman (Jordan) to Switzerland on Friday afternoon as part of an agreement with the Norwegian authorities. The flight was accompanied by the Swiss Federal Air Transport Service.

The children were taken from Zurich and Geneva airports to hospitals in cantons Basel City, Fribourg, Geneva, Graubünden, Jura, Ticino, Vaud and Valais, according to SEM. The children require specific medical treatment not available in Gaza.

+ The humanitarian cost of Israel's war in GazaExternal link

According to SEM, the cantons in question had promised to provide accommodation, support and healthcare for the people assigned to them. Allocation to the cantons and hospitals was based on medical criteria. If treatment costs were not covered by compulsory health insurance, the host cantons or hospitals would cover them.

The humanitarian operation began last Monday when the injured children were evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Jordan. There they were cared for and stabilised and prepared for onward transport. Before travelling, all evacuees underwent a comprehensive security check by Swiss and Israeli authorities, SEM added. In Switzerland, they will undergo a regular asylum procedure.

At the end of October, Switzerland already took in seven children from the war zone. As part of the operation, Switzerland has now evacuated a total of 20 injured children and 78 accompanying persons from the Gaza Strip. With this second contingent, the operation by Switzerland is now completed.

Translated from German by DeepL/dos

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