The standoff of stranded Gaza patients, who are in need of emergency treatment abroad, has reportedly been partially resolved today, as about 28 urgent cases will be moving to Jordan for referral to hospitals over there.
Dr. Moawaiya Abu Hasanin, chief of the emergency and ambulance department at the health ministry, announced that the Jordanian kingdom will undertake treatment of 28 patients.
‘ We have agreed with the Jordanian embassy on dispatching 28 patients, accompanied by nine family members, to Amman on Thursday morning’, Abu Hasanin said.
Speaking to media outlets in Gaza, Abu Hasanin confirmed that 19 patients, accompanied by 9 family members, crossed the Eritz crossing (Beit Hanoun crossing) in northern Gaza, on their way to the Jordanian capital.
The Minister of the Civil Affairs department, Hussain Elsheikh, stated earlier that 31 patients have been allowed access to Amman, after the Israeli occupation authorities approved the names.
According to the Palestinian health ministry’s records, there are at least 400 other patients who are still in need of treatment outside the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army has closed the Gaza’s crossings since June 2007, disallowing access for critical emergency cases out of the coastal region, allegedly for security reasons.
The Physicians for Human Rights group, based in Tel-Aviv, had earlier filed a petition with the Israeli high court of justice, demanding the release of stranded patients for treatment.
The PHR had told the IMEMC that many patients who need treatment at Israeli hospitals have been denied access upon arriving at Eritz crossing.
So far, 65 patients have died in Gaza after having been denied access to treatment in Egypt and Israel, the closest destinations to the Gaza Strip.
