Israel blocks Gaza patients from leaving for treatment for 2nd day over Jewish holidays

Israel prevented Palestinian patients and wounded people in the Gaza Strip from traveling abroad for treatment Monday for the second consecutive day because of Jewish holidays, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Anadolu reports.

“For the second consecutive day, no patients or wounded people have been evacuated through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings because of holidays observed by the occupation,” the ministry said in a brief statement.

According to Yoram Halevi, Israel’s coordinator of government activities in the Palestinian territories, the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings in southern Gaza were closed Sunday and Monday because of Jewish holidays.

The closures came after Israel on Thursday reduced the number of patients, wounded people, and their companions scheduled to leave Gaza for treatment in Egypt from 136 to 61 Palestinians, according to an earlier ministry statement.

The ministry described the move as “a blatant violation of the right to treatment,” warning that it puts hundreds of patients at risk of death by preventing them from reaching specialized hospitals in time.

It called on the World Health Organization, the UN humanitarian chief, and other international organizations to “intervene immediately and exert direct pressure” on Israeli authorities to end what it described as “arbitrary conditions.”

In late August, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said thousands of patients in Gaza were still awaiting medical evacuation for urgent treatment.

Some 13,237 patients, including 6,276 children, along with 16,406 companions, had been evacuated from Gaza since October 2023, he said.

According to an earlier Health Ministry statement, 20,719 patients and wounded people remained on the waiting list to leave Gaza for treatment.

On Feb. 2, Israel partially reopened the Rafah crossing, which it has controlled since May 2024, under strict restrictions to allow limited departures of patients, wounded people, and their companions, as well as the return of Palestinians from abroad.

Months later, Israel also began allowing patients and wounded people to leave through the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing.

Palestinians returning to Gaza have reported being subjected to Israeli mistreatment, including detention and lengthy interrogation, before being allowed to continue their journey.

The closures come as Gaza’s health sector continues to suffer the consequences of the Israeli war, during which 445 attacks have targeted health facilities and damaged 155 facilities, according to official figures.

Since Oct. 8, 2023, Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 174,000 others in its genocide in Gaza, while destroying around 90% of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.