Mobile maternity units ‘gathering dust’ in Cairo after Israel refuses entry into Gaza, aid groups say

Eight mobile medical units are ready to enter Gaza to provide critical care for Palestinians but are being blocked at the border by Israel, aid groups have said. Six state-of-the-art mobile maternity units, a kidney dialysis and general purpose clinic, have been waiting to enter Gaza for up to two years but charities have been told by Israel that they are “dual use” and therefore could be taken by Hamas. Money for the units was raised by groups including Medics Worldwide, Palestine Aid UK, Palestine Aid Ireland, and an Irish citizen and lorry driver John Hurson. But despite significant mobilisation on the ground to raise around £650,000 in funds for the units, they are collecting dust near Cairo while desperate mothers and patients need their support on the other side of the border. “These are mothers we are trying to save,”Jilu Wahid, CEO of Palestine Aid UK tells The Independent. “We need to allow these units in because they're going to immediately provide intervention.Mobile maternity clinics blocked from entering Gaza, say aid groups (Palestine Aid UK/John Hurson)“Combatants cannot use maternity units for anything. It doesn’t make sense. They should let them in.”According to Save the Children UK, around 130 children are born daily in Gaza. However, the medical system has been devastated by Israeli attacks across the strip. All of Gaza’s hospitals have been left either partially damaged if not destroyed entirely. The maternity units cost £75,000 and are built into vehicles, allowing them to operate across the area and wherever they are required. Each clinic is equipped to provide antenatal and postnatal care, safe delivery support, emergency obstetric triage and referrals, newborn health checks, maternal health consultations, and essential reproductive health services, according to Palestine Aid UK. The kidney dialysis unit cost £150,000 while the general clinic is valued at £65,000. John Hurson, a lorry driver from Ireland who has spearheaded fundraising efforts for three of the units, says that he is concerned for the welfare of Palestinian mothers and children in the strip. “I’ve always been acutely aware of the situation on the ground in Gaza,” he told The Independent. “I couldn’t think of anything better to give a child in Gaza the best possible start in life than to be born in a safe, hygienic, secure way. To ensure that mothers get the best of attention and care. The converted buses and ambulances could provide life-saving care for mothers and babies in Gaza, where health systems have been decimated (Palestine Aid UK/John Hurson)“In western society, we’re used to a very high standard of care and health services. By seeing these clinics being finished and built, I thought this is the ultimate gift to give the women of Gaza because the conditions are horrendous. I’m not even a parent myself but this is an amazing project. “These units can last a very long time. We’d love to think that for years to come, these gifts from the people of Ireland and the UK will enable children to be born in a safe and dignified space for both the mother and baby, which is very important in any society, not to mention Gaza.”UN data shows that severe maternal morbidity rose to 82 cases per 1,000 deliveries in the first half of 2026, while nearly 4,000 miscarriages occurred during that same period. OCHA also reported that more than 57 per cent of pregnant women were anaemic. Hurson is due to visit Cairo on 22 November and hopes to meet with Egyptian officials to discuss the next steps in ensuring entry into the strip. He says he has meetings arranged with Irish ambassadors to discuss next steps. Irish lorry driver John Hurson and Jilu Wahid have worked together to provide practical support to Palestinians (Palestine Aid UK/John Hurson)He has called on Britain’s foreign secretary Ed Miliband to put his support for Palestinians into action. Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin addressed the blocking of Irish-funded mobile maternity units in Irish parliament in September and condemned the delays. Wahid says that the groups built the units to meet stringent Israeli specifications. He says they have “stopped fundraising” for more units despite the interest as they cannot guarantee they will be used. “We fundraise for these units and they’re collecting dust,” says Hurson. Damaged infrastructure is visible at Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza, on October 15, 2025. (AFP/Getty)Turkey-based charity Medics Worldwide said: “Since completing the preparation, refurbishment, and modification of the first mobile medical clinic, MEDICS Worldwide has made repeated efforts to secure the necessary authorisations and arrangements for the safe passage of these humanitarian medical units into the Gaza Strip and their formal reception by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the competent authority responsible for managing the health sector and overseeing hospitals in Gaza.“To this end, MEDICS has continuously engaged with all relevant parties and authorities, including the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the relevant Egyptian authorities, seeking their support in facilitating the deployment of the clinics. “Throughout these efforts, we have encountered no objection from the Egyptian side. However, the obstacle has consistently been the refusal of the Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the authority exercising control over border crossings and the entry of shipments and supplies into Gaza.COGAT told The Independent that allegations that the mobile units were being blocked were “false and recycled claims originating from the Hamas terrorist organisation”, without providing further evidence.“It should be clarified that, contrary to these claims, the State of Israel facilitates the entry of mobile clinics into the Gaza Strip. Throughout the war, dozens of mobile clinics have entered the Gaza Strip, and in recent weeks alone, the entry of three additional mobile clinics for the International Medical Corps (IMC) has been approved.”Pressed specifically on the eight units stuck in Cairo, they said: “Should a request be received from international organizations or UN agencies authorized to operate in the Gaza Strip, it will be reviewed and coordinated accordingly.”