The International Commission for the Protection of the Rights of the Palestinian People documented last year that Israeli occupying forces prevented 20,000 patients in the Gaza Strip from receiving treatment in hospitals in the West Bank and abroad. The statement of the International Commission confirmed that the occupying forces continue to prevent the importation of medical devices necessary for diagnosing diseases, as well as essential medicines for patients with cancer, heart defects and congenital anomalies, noting that the occupying forces continue to deprive patients of movement and movement to receive appropriate medical assistance outside the Gaza Strip, in addition to banning patients’ escorts from traveling with them while the policy of arresting and interrogating patients and their companions at Israeli checkpoints continues.
Authorities added that over 20,000 requests submitted by patients and their companions for treatment at hospitals outside the Strip were denied during 2022.