Colombia to provide medical aid to injured Palestinian children

A Colombian military hospital will provide medical treatment to Palestinian children injured in the Israel-Hamas war, under a plan announced Thursday by the country’s Foreign Ministry.

Colombia’s Deputy Minister of Multilateral Affairs, Elizabeth Taylor Jay, told reporters that the children would travel with their families to Colombia for rehabilitation. She did not provide further details, including the number of children who would receive treatment, when they would arrive in Colombia, or how long they would remain in the country.

The United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Germany have been receiving Palestinians in need of medical treatment as a result of the war that began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.

Israeli bombardments and ground operations in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Historically, Colombia has been one of Israel’s closest partners in Latin America. However, relations between the two nations have cooled since Petro was elected as Colombia’s first leftist president in 2022.

Weeks after the Hamas attack on southern Israel, Petro recalled Colombia’s ambassador to Israel, criticizing the country’s military offensive. In May, he broke diplomatic ties with Israel, stating that he could not maintain relations with the “genocidal” government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Taylor Jay said Thursday that the government believes injured children can be treated by Colombian military doctors due to “the expertise” they have acquired while caring for people wounded during Colombia’s decades-long internal conflict.

Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, Colombia has repatriated 310 of its citizens on three humanitarian flights. Petro also granted Colombian nationality to a Palestinian woman, married to a Colombian man, who was trapped in Gaza with two of her Colombian children. The family settled in the South American country in November.