Besieged Gaza Strip – 19-month-old Gazan patient has died on Friday after ‘Israel’ denied her access to a hospital outside besieged Gaza Strip.
At around 10:30am on Friday, medical sources at the Gaza European Hospital announced the death of Fatma Jalal al-Masri.
‘Israel’ denied her access to a hospital outside Gaza at Erez crossing.
According to Al Mezan, Fatma’s legal representative, doctors diagnosed her with a ventricular septal defect in 2021.
Fatma obtained a medical referral from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and confirming three hospital appointments at Al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem.
However, ‘Israel’ denied Fatma the requisite exit permit to travel to Occupied Jerusalem for the appointments.
The last was on 5 March 2022.
The young patient’s health deteriorated over the course of several months of denied care.
She died three weeks after her last missed appointment.
Al Mezan said that “Fatma was subjected to Israel’s arbitrary and discriminatory permit system.”
This system “delays access to hospitals outside the Strip and denies care in around 30 percent of urgent cases.”
Al Mezan also deeply regretted Fatma’s death and strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing closure on the Gaza Strip.
It also condemned Israel’s associated restrictions on the movement of Palestinians.
This includes denying patients access to the hospitals in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, ‘Israel’, and abroad.
Al Mezan’s documentation shows that since 2011, 71 Palestinians—including 25 women and nine children—have died following Israel’s denial of requests for exit permits and delays.
Al Mezan emphasized that ‘Israel’ is fully responsible for Fatma’s death as the “occupying power and relevant duty bearer in these circumstances.”
