Golob visits Gazan children treated in Ljubljana

"Visiting the first group of children who came from Gaza to Slovenia, we could see for ourselves again how shocking their stories are and how none of us would want our children to be forced to go through anything like this," Golob told the press.

The children wanted to know whether they would ever have a normal life again. "It's very difficult to give them an answer because today ... Gaza has been turned into an area that may never be inhabited again, at least as far as the north is concerned," Golob said.

"What we can do at the moment with such projects is to give these children at least a semblance of a normal life and a semblance of hope," Golob said, adding the massacre in Gaza was continuing unabated despite all the appeals by the international community.

"It's hard to find an answer how to move forward, but that doesn't mean we are not trying all the time, and it is with this aim in mind that I'm travelling to the United States today to meet President Joe Biden tomorrow. Trust me the situation in the Middle East, as far as we are concerned, will be the main topic of these talks."

Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon thanked the staff at the Soča institute, wishing that more children could be brought to Slovenia. "What Slovenia can do with its expertise, with its help in rehabilitation, with the psychosocial support that children need, may be a drop in the ocean, but it is a hope for the future for each child and their family," she said.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said that too many children in Gaza have been killed and injured. "This war is also a war against children," he said.

Today the children talked about how grateful they are to be in Ljubljana, but they are all worried about the future. They want to return to where they can be educated, because education was the only way for them to keep their dream of a better future alive, the UNRWA official said.

Danilo Türk, a former Slovenian president who started a foundation that is involved in the children rehabilitation project, said the grave injuries suffered by the children from Gaza and the way they are traumatised showed just how deep the tragedy in Gaza is.

"When we started with this project, it wasn't that bad, the hope then was stronger, today the hope is weaker and the children are much more damaged than they used to be. Many find today that Gaza is witnessing a genocide and when you meet these children you can see why this view is so common," he added.

The ten children and youth, the youngest of which is just four, are receiving comprehensive treatment at the Soča institute after experiencing amputations of limbs, and some of them spinal injuries. They will stay at least 42 days in Slovenia during which time they will also get psychosocial support.