CAIRO, March 12. /TASS/. Up to 10 Palestinians suffering from chronic diseases die in the Gaza Strip in a day while waiting for their turn to be transferred to neighboring countries for treatment, according to Muhammad Abu Salmiya, a spokesman for the enclave's health ministry responsible for evacuating the sick and wounded from Gaza.
"Five to ten people die every day in Gaza while waiting for their turn to be sent outside the Strip for necessary treatment," Abu Salmiya said, as quoted by the Maan news agency. He pointed out that, for example, the number of Palestinians suffering from kidney failure has decreased "from the initial number of 1,150 to approximately 700 patients." The spokesman emphasized that "nearly 40% of them have died due to Israel's severe restrictions on the transportation of patients to other countries and the near-total lack of necessary medicines in healthcare facilities across the Palestinian enclave."
On January 15, Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held in the enclave. The agreement, consisting of three phases, was activated on January 19. The first phase expired on March 1. In total, during the first six weeks of the ceasefire, Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages alive and returned the bodies of eight dead hostages in exchange for over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
On March 2, Israel blocked humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza and shut down all crossings due to Hamas’ rejection of US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff’s plan to extend ceasefire negotiations in the enclave.