The Gaza-based popular committee for breaking the Israel-enforced siege accused on Thursday Israel of perpetrating a war crime against the patients of Gaza Strip, who are in need of medical care outside the coastal region
The accusation came amidts increase of death toll of such patients to 122, due to the continued Israeli closure of Gaza’s crossing points, through which such patients are supposed to travel for referel at hospitals outside Gaza.
On Thursday, the committee announced the death of Jamil aL-Halabi, 30, of a skin cancer, after having been unable to exit Gaza for treatment, due to the Israeli closure.
Rami Abdo, the committee’s spokesperson, said that the family of Halabi confirmed that it has repeatedly attempted to refer its son Jamil for medication outside Gaza, yet it failed.
‘the rising death toll among patients in the past several months has been attributed mainly to Israel refusal to let them enter through the Israel-controlled Eritz checkpoint in northern Gaza Strip’, Abdo explained.
Almost 20 to 30 percent of applications for medical referal outside Gaza, have been rejected by the Israeli authorities since January2008 and that many of those denied access were women and children, Abdo pointed out.
Last month alone, the Israeli occupation authorities rejected entry permissions of 67 patients, as 411 students out of 968 have been denied entry through crossings enroute to neighboring Arab universities, Abdo cited cases.
He called on all international humanitarian bodies including the World Health Organisation, to move immediately for uncovering what he described ‘ Israeli violations’.
Since June2007, Israel has been placing Gaza under a strict closure of travel and commercial crossings as well as enforcing a series of punitive measures on Gaza’s 1.5 million residents, including cutting off fuel supplies.
Israel says its actions on the coastal Strip are aimed at stopping homamde shells fire, Palestinian resistance groups continue to launch from the Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza into nearby Israeli towns.
