Over 20,000 patients are currently eager to hear the news of reopening the Rafah crossing as to exit from Gaza for essential medical treatment, according to a statement released by the Health Ministry on Saturday.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra declared that since ‘Israel’ reasserted control over the Rafah crossing, no patients have been able to depart Gaza for medical care. He added that Palestinians who are currently abroad are also unable to return to their homeland.
“More than 20,000 patients, suffering from conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and blood disorders, are enduring inhumane conditions due to the ongoing occupation, siege, and the war of extermination being waged against civilians in Gaza,” Al-Qudra stated.
He characterized these actions as “a war crime and a flagrant violation of the health rights of patients as stipulated in international humanitarian law.”
Al-Qudra called on the international community to intervene and save the patients from risky complications and death, highlighting Israeli attacks on health care facilities have rendered them inoperative.
Despite a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, ‘Israel’ has persisted in its brutal offensive on Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 35,800 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are women and children.
Earlier this month, Israeli forces launched a ground assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a refuge for over a million displaced Palestinians, and subsequently took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
More than seven months into the war, Gaza lies in devastation, its infrastructure decimated amidst a crippling blockade that severely restricts access to food, clean water, and medical supplies.
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