Two Palestinian patients die due to the Israeli siege on Gaza, death toll due to the siege hits 103

Monday February 11, 2008 23:24

by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

Two Palestinian patients died on Monday due to the Israeli army siege imposed on the Gaza strip, Palestinian sources reported.

File - 2007

Medcial sources identified the two as Fathiyyia Abu Wardah, 40, and Khadijja Al Aqaad. The sources said that both died of cancer.

Medica; sources said the two have applied to travel for treatment outside Gaza but the Israeli authorities refused to grant them permit, despite of their illness.

On Monday the Palestinian Gaza-based ad-Dameer association for human rights told IMEMC that since June 2007 so far, 103 Palestinian patients died due to the Israeli imposed siege on the Gaza strip.

Sameer Mousa, a lawyer at ad-Dameer, told IMEMC that the three main reasons for the death of those 103 patients are varied, but all related to the tight siege imposed on the Gaza Strip. He cited, lack of medical supplies and equipment and the fact that patients are not allowed to travel outside of the Gaza Strip for medication.

Mousa added "Patients suffer heart problems, cancer, diabetes and Kidney failure, constitute the majority of those who died due to the siege by the occupation." According to ad-Dameer, there are 450 types of medicine missing from Gaza since the total siege on Gaza was enforced by the Israeli army.

Mousa concluded by saying "The operation rooms in most of the Gaza strip hospitals are in danger of total shot down in the near future due to lack of medicine, frequent power failure due to fuel shortage, and lack of spare parts for medical equipments."

The Gaza Strip was placed under a total siege by the Israeli army since June 2007 shortly after the Hamas movement took total control over the strip from Fatah. In September of the same year the Israeli government dclared the Gaza strip as a "Hostile Entity" and stepped up its attacks. In January 2008 the Israeli army decided to further reducing the amount of fuel, electricity, food, and water supplied coming into Gaza.

The Israeli government justifies the siege by saying it comes as a response to the Palestinian resistance firing of home-made shells at nearby Israeli town of Sderot.

Four Israelis have been injured in the past two weeks as a result of Palestinian attacks, meanwhile, around 56 Palestinians have been killed due to Israeli attacks. Palestinians, on the other hand, say their attacks come in response to the Israeli attacks against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.