News / Palestine

Gazans’ lives at risk if Israel siege continues: Ministry

Wednesday, 08 April 2015 9:03 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 08 April 2015 9:02 AM ]

Palestinians work on the rubble of their house that was destroyed during Israel’s 2014 war against the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City's al-Shejaiya neighborhood, on March 31, 2015. ©AFP

The Palestinian health ministry has warned of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip if Israel does not lift its crippling siege on the region.

The ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in an interview on Tuesday that the health situation was worsening in the impoverished coastal enclave due to Israel’s siege.

The official said that hundreds of patients in the coastal sliver were in life-threatening condition as they were in urgent need of medical treatment, warning that their lives will be at risk if Israel continues its siege on the region.

The Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Israeli siege since 2007. The blockade, which has cut off the territory from the outside world, has led to an economic and humanitarian crisis in the densely-populated enclave.

A Palestinian woman looks out from behind a hanging blanket at her home in Gaza City's al-Shati refugee camp on April 2, 2015. ©AFP

In March, the UN expressed concerns about the economic situation in the Gaza Strip, saying the lifting of the Israeli siege on the coastal enclave is the “prerequisite” for reviving its economy.

“We, in the UN, have always been in the forefront in calling for an end to the blockade as a prerequisite for a stable, functioning economy in Gaza,” said Robert Serry, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process.

The UN official further noted that the blockaded area suffered a crippling destruction during the latest Israeli onslaught, saying the area’s rehabilitation process would “take years.”

Last summer, Israel unleashed a war on the territory, which killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and left over 11,100 others injured. The 50-day war ended with an Egyptian-brokered truce.

AR/NN/HRB

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk