Border crossings must open as Gaza is at a ‘dangerous stage’: Palestinian NGO Network chief
Amjad Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network in Gaza, says that the ceasefire has not stopped the “crimes” of “genocide”.
Daily Israeli bombardment is continuing to displace people, while Israel is preventing the entry of basic materials, shelter supplies and medicines, Shawa told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
“We are going through a very dangerous stage,” he said. “We need to open the crossings and bring in aid to reduce [people’s] suffering.”
Nearly half of kidney patients dead as closure of Rafah crossing blocks treatment
Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, has told Qatar’s state news agency, QNA, that nearly 50 percent of dialysis patients in Gaza died while awaiting treatment abroad or the arrival of essential medical supplies during the two years of war, while enduring the absence of more than 70 percent of required medications.
He noted that the complex operates only 34 dialysis machines serving about 750 kidney failure patients, an insufficient capacity that worsened after Israeli attacks destroyed hospitals providing specialised renal services, including the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza.
Abu Salmiya warned that continued delays in reopening the Rafah crossing, or severe restrictions on patient travel, would further deepen the crisis and pose grave risks to patients requiring transplants or specialised care unavailable in Gaza.
He called for facilitating patient travel and expanding medical evacuation. The prolonged closure of the Rafah land crossing has severely affected Gaza’s population, with Israeli authorities preventing the entry of humanitarian and medical aid.
According to the Ministry of Health, the closure has led to the deaths of more than 1,000 patients and wounded individuals awaiting treatment abroad, while nearly 20,000 others remain in urgent need of medical evacuation.
Medical supplies running out in Gaza, health official warns
Munir al-Bursh, the director-general of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, has called for the immediate opening of border crossings.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, he also called for the entry of medical supplies and the facilitation of evacuations for wounded Palestinians to receive treatment outside the Gaza Strip.
Al-Bursh warned the health situation in Gaza is extremely dire, noting that medical supplies are rapidly running out.
Only limited medical cases will be allowed to leave Gaza through Rafah crossing
The Rafah crossing is expected to be reopened tomorrow – but only for people wanting to leave Gaza. Israel says it will not allow any goods to enter the besieged enclave.
COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for coordinating aid to Gaza, said a “limited movement of people only” would be permitted through the crossing starting on Sunday.
The crossing will be overseen by multiple parties, including Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and a European Union mission, but Israel retains control over who is allowed to enter or exit.
Still no clarity on Rafah crossing ‘criteria’
Amjad Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network in Gaza, said it remains to be seen how many people, and under what conditions, will be able to use the Rafah crossing that is expected to open tomorrow.
“We have no clarification about the numbers or criteria,” Shawa told Al Jazeera. “We hope that in the coming days there will be clarity about the numbers and about who will be allowed to travel.”
Shawa stressed that there are more than 20,000 wounded people in Gaza who urgently need medical evacuation, including hundreds requiring “life-saving surgeries or medical intervention”.
“The high priority is for these people. We also hope that once they’ve recovered [from being treated abroad], they will be let back into the Gaza Strip.”
