Israeli doctors witness first-hand the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, patients there are "sentenced to a slow death"
Date: 08 / 09 / 2006 Time: 17:46
For the first time in six years, members of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel were granted access to the Gaza Strip to witness first-hand the plight of the Palestinian residents of the Strip at a time of unrestrained and ongoing Israeli attacks.
A delegation of medical and non-medical staff entered the Gaza Strip on 1 September 2006 and met with their Palestinian colleagues in the health and human rights fields, including the Palestinian minister of health, Dr. Bassem Naim. They visited Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya and Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. They visited areas of the Gaza Strip that have been particularly badly hit in recent weeks during Israel's bombardment, such as the Shuja'iyyeh district in the northeast of the Strip.
Their press release reports that, since 26 June 2006 (the day the Israeli soldier Cpl Shalit was captured by Palestinian fighters), Kamal Adwan Hospital has received over 260 patients, of whom 60% were in a critical condition. As a result of the bombing of Gaza's only power plant at the end of June, the hospital must frequently rely on its two generators. At these times, only the emergency and operating rooms are used.
The statement said that there are sick patients in the Gaza Strip who are "sentenced to a slow death" due to the fact that they are not permitted or able to enter Israel or Egypt for further medical treatment. Due to the lack of radiology treatment, cancer patients face a particularly gruelling future.
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The delegation ended their press release by calling for a "fundamental change in Israel’s attitude".
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=15205
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