Sunday January 25, 2009

A group of Israeli doctors with Physicians for Human Rights released a report Saturday with their observations from a delegation to the Gaza Strip. They say that due to the overcrowded conditions, lack of medical supplies, and intermittent electricity resulting from Israeli bombardment, hundreds of Palestinians are in danger of dying.

Over 1300 Palestinians were killed in the three-week long Israeli offensive which ended last week. At least 4,400 were wounded, many of them critically, and the wounded are now facing dire conditions in the Gazan hospitals where many of them remain.

According to one member of the Physicians for Human Rights delegation, “Each hospital is full of wounded. There are wounded in serious condition and the treatment they are given is very basic because of the lack of medical supplies. The hospitals are not set up to receive so many patients at the same time”, adding that the conditions will definitely lead to high fatality rates among the wounded.

In addition to the lack of medical equipment and supplies, there are sewage leaks in many areas in Gaza, animal carcasses are strewn about the streets and trash is everywhere after the massive bombardment of homes and schools for three weeks straight. The Physicians for Human Rights warn that this will lead to contamination of the wounded, many of whom are suffering from acute burns and amputations of limbs. Some of the injured have unprecedented symptoms that docors say are indications that Israeli forces used internationally-banned weapons in Gaza.

The doctors appealed to the international community to pressure Israel to allow the entry of medical aid into the Gaza Strip, and to allow patients in need of lifesaving medical care to leave the Strip to receive treatment abroad. Israeli forces control all sides of the Gaza Strip, and do not allow Palestinian resident