A Gaza patient dies because of the Israeli siege

Saturday December 08, 2007 13:22 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC&Agencies

Palestinian medical sources in Gaza announced today the death of one more patient due to having been denied access to referral to hospitals outside the Gaza Strip, as Israel continues to impose restrictions on movement of Gaza patients.

Rafah crossing terminal, where patients and other travelers used to get through before the Israeli closure of Gaza/ archive photo

The medics identified the dead as Zuhair Hussain, a cancer patient of his sixties, saying that the ministry has asked for his referral to a hospital outside Gaza, yet the Israeli authorities refused to grant him access.

The sources added that this case is the thirty since Israel has placed the coastal Strip under complete closure in mid June, after the Hamas party took over the region.

In November, a number of men , women and children, died after having been unable to get through travel crossings for treatment, due to Israel army restrictions.

According to the human rights group, Physicians for Human Rights, based in Tel-Aviv, the Israeli General Security Service (Shabak), has been interrogating patients trying to have access to Israeli hospitals, returning most of them back to Gaza.

The PHR also revealed that the Israeli security personnel have been asking patients for information about family members, neighbors and friends, in return for allowing them in.

From its part, the Hamas movement has claimed today's victim as a leading member of which, warning of the continued closure of crossings and calling on the Egyptian authorities to reopen the Rafah terminal crossing, the sole outlet to abroad for 1.4 million population.

In September, Israel declared the Gaza Strip a 'hostile entity', announcing a series of measures including fuel supplies cut, Gaza is reportedly suffers from.

Local and international bodies branded the move 'a collective punishment' policy, as United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon, had urged Israel to reconsider its actions.

gaza strip | israeli attacks | news report rami at imemc dot org