Project Pure Hope offers a lifeline to children in Gaza

Over recent months, the situation in Gaza has gone from dire to unimaginable. Every day, we witness the heart-wrenching toll of this devastating conflict – families torn apart, essential infrastructure reduced to rubble, and countless lives lost.

The situation is particularly dramatic for children. Casualty counts vary and are difficult to verify, but the UN estimates that nearly 7,800 children have been killed between October 2023 and May 2025. At least 6,000 children are now believed to be living with untreated injuries. For the vast majority, access to life-saving treatment is simply out of reach.

This is why our foundation, Virgin Unite, is supporting Project Pure Hope – an extraordinary initiative by a coalition of UK healthcare leaders and humanitarians. Project Pure Hope provides life-saving medical care and support to children who are unable to receive the care they need where they are.

Project Pure Hope

Operating since 2023, Project Pure Hope has facilitated medical treatment for injured children from Gaza in Italy, the UAE and Jordan – working with trusted NGO partners on the ground. The initiative has also supported Israeli children via hospital networks and offered medical equipment to healthcare providers in Israel. Additionally, Project Pure Hope has funded essential medical supplies for hospitals in Gaza and Lebanon.

And just last month the team achieved another remarkable milestone, with the arrival of two young girls, Ghena, aged five, and Rama aged 12, in the UK. This marked the first time children from Gaza have been safely evacuated to the UK for medical treatment. Ghena has fluid pressing on her optic nerve and needs urgent intervention to save her sight, whilst Rama has been unable to hold down her food and needed an operation on her bowel. I am heartened to hear that both girls are doing well and responding to treatment.

Project Pure Hope is funded entirely through private donations, with no cost to the NHS. I really hope that many more children of Gaza will be able to receive the life-saving treatment that they so desperately need.

Project Pure Hope and the brilliant medical professionals behind it show us what’s possible when compassion meets action. While we continue to push for lasting peace and a political solution to this awful conflict, supporting efforts like Project Pure Hope gives us a way to respond to the immediate needs of innocent children. Let’s never forget that even in the darkest moments, hope can endure.