'Israel' prevents critical patients in Gaza from accessing treatment

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net
10 May 2023 13:53

Even cancer-stricken patients are being deprived of treatment.

A Palestinian woman sits beside her baby that is receiving treatment in a hospital in Gaza. (WHO)

Over 140 Palestinian patients that require immediate medical attention, most of which are cancer patients, are being deprived of treatment after the Israeli occupation entity closed down the Beit Hanoun crossing, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Tuesday.

The checkpoint is designated for individuals and connects the strip to Al-Quds, the occupied West Bank, and other occupied territories where the hospitals that are providing medical treatment for the patients are located.

The Ministry said that 5 out of the 142 patients are considered a life or death situation.

The Health Ministry stressed that "the occupation's prevention of patients from accessing specialized hospitals is a violation of international humanitarian law and is a deliberate deprivation of patients from their right to treatment," calling for pressure on "Israel" to facilitate the patients' departure to save their lives.

Most patients in the Gaza Strip depend on hospitals in the occupied territories to receive treatment and perform operations that are not available in the Strip due to the complete Israeli years-long blockade and seige.

This comes after the Israeli occupation carried out a brutal aggression on Tuesday dawn against the Gaza Strip, during which it used 40 planes, helicopters, and drones to target several areas in the Strip, including the homes of three Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ) leaders.

The aggression resulted in the martyrdom of the three leaders and most members of their families, including their wives and children.

15 Palestinians were martyred in the aggression, including four children and five women, while over 20 were injured, also most of whom are children and women.