5 Palestinian patients in Gaza lose lives due to Israeli siege: NGO

By Nour Abu Eisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Israel’s siege on the Gaza Strip has caused five Palestinians to lose their lives this year, including three children, a local NGO said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said a cancer patient died on Tuesday after his repeated request for an exit permit for medical attention outside Gaza was rejected by Israeli authorities.

“Mohammad al-Leddawi, 32, from Rafah city in southern Gaza Strip, was the latest patient to have died due to Israeli restrictions on the freedom of movement,” it added in a statement.

The rights group termed Israel’s denial of access to patients to hospitals outside Gaza as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights laws.”

The NGO called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility by piling pressure on Israel to end its years-long blockade on Gaza.

Home to 2.3 million people, Gaza has been reeling under a crippling Israeli siege since 2007, badly affecting livelihood in the seaside territory.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the Israeli siege on Gaza has deprived nearly 50% of patients in the strip of seeking medical attention in hospitals outside the blockaded territory.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar