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Israeli
authorities denied an orthopedic surgeon entry into Gaza last week, preventing
her from providing crucial treatment to children with disabilities. One of her
patients, Minah, a 3-year-old girl with a clubfoot condition, has been left
without necessary treatment for months. As a result, Minah’s feet started to
turn in again. The orthopedic surgeon had planned surgery to reverse the
situation.
Minah was casted in October 2024 after an orthopedic surgeon’s visit to Gaza. The casting, which usually requires several changes, was aimed to gradually correct the position of her feet. Minah’s case is one of many. Before October 2023, an estimated 98,000 children in Gaza had disabilities, and since then thousands of children have acquired disabilities due to Israel’s use of explosive weapons and now require reconstructive surgeries. Newborns have had almost no access to follow-up health care for 15 months, increasing risks of health complications.
Despite
the mid-January ceasefire, Israel’s military has denied numerous medical
professionals entry into Gaza without an explanation. Several other medical
doctors were also denied entry even after getting preliminary clearance without
proper explanation.
Gaza’s
healthcare system collapsed amid Israeli forces’ repeated unlawful strikes on
hospitals and medical facilities and personnel, unlawful cutting of water,
fuel, and electricity, and arbitrary detention and torture of Palestinian health
care workers. These denials to enter Gaza exacerbate a cycle of Israeli
violations of Palestinians’ right to health. Israeli authorities control both
entry into and exit from Gaza, including medical evacuations.