The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have suspended the entry and departure of people and commodities from Gaza through two crossing points until further notice on Tuesday evening.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the Israeli decision to shut down Beit Hanoun border crossing deprived 142 patients and five critical cases from receiving treatment in Jerusalem and West Bank specialized hospitals.
The Israeli move violates international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Ministry said.
The Health Ministry called on the relevant authorities to put pressure on the IOA to facilitate the patients’ travel for treatment before it is too late.
For its part, the Al-Mizan Center for Human Rights said that Israel further tightened its unlawful closure measures on Gaza by shutting down Beit Hanoun and Karem Abu Salem crossings.
Should the complete closure of Gaza by Israel continue, this would exacerbate the already grim living and humanitarian conditions of more than two million Palestinians living in the Strip, the Center warned.
“The closure of Beit Hanoun, Gaza’s only pedestrian crossing with Israel, denies hundreds of medical patients access to hospitals in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, Israel, or abroad—particularly those with serious diseases in need of life-saving medical treatment otherwise unavailable in Gaza due to Israel’s closure,” it concluded.
