Ref: 143/2007

Date: 21 October  2007

Time: 13:00 GMT

Work Stoppage in Gaza Strip Surgery Room Threatens the Lives of Hundreds of Patients

PCHR calls upon the international community, the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention, UN bodies, WHO, and the ICRC to pressure Israeli authorities to allow passage of medicine and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip, especially the anesthetic gas nitrous oxide used in surgeries. The Centre also calls upon all diplomatic missions in the OPT and Israel to work to ensure the timely flow of essential medical supplies to hospitals and healthcare centers in the Gaza Strip in order to maintain the provision of healthcare to the Strip’s 1.5 million population.

Today, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced the closure of surgery rooms in the Strip’s hospitals and healthcare centers due to the exhaustion of the nitrous oxide anesthetic as a result of restrictions on the entry of the anesthetic by Israeli occupation forces (IOF). The company providing the gas to the Ministry of Health confirmed this and added that on Thursday, 19 October 2007, only 2 canisters of Nitrous Gas were useable out of a total of 44 canisters used by the Strip’s hospitals. These two canisters were used only in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City; and they ran out in the afternoon of Sunday, 21 October 2007.

Estimates indicate that the Strip’s hospitals and healthcare facilities use 140 nitrous gas canisters monthly. El-Ghosein Co. imports the gas from the Israeli firm Maxima, located in Beersheva. On 23 August 2007, IOF allowed passage of 114 canisters into the Strip. Since then, 140 canisters were sent to the Israeli company for refilling. And at the start of October 2007 the Israeli company informed its Palestinian counterpart that the canisters were full and ready to deliver to the Gaza Strip. In addition, the Israeli company stated that it had arranged the necessary security coordination with the Israeli authorities.

However, El-Ghosein company did not receive the delivery after IOF informed the company that there was no security clearance for the shipment. Subsequently, the delivery date and procedures were delayed several times. And till the publication of this report, the nitrous gas canisters have not entered the Strip; and the available supply was exhausted.

It is noted that dozens of surgeries throughout the Gaza Strip will stop. And the health dangers of this stoppage will not be immediately known. However, all patients requiring emergency surgeries face serious threats to their lives due to the stoppage of surgeries after the exhaustion of the Strip’s nitrous gas supply.

PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) to intervene to intervene to ensure respect of International Law, and calls upon:

-         the international community to intervene immediately to stop the serious deterioration in the health situation affecting the civilian population in the Gaza Strip by ensuring the flow of nitrous gas and other medical supplies so as to enable healthcare facilities to conduct surgeries to thousands of patients in the Gaza Strip.

-         UN bodies including the WHO in intervene immediately to ensure the provision of the Gaza Strip needs of nitrous gas and other medicines and medical supplies to stop the deterioration in the health situation in the Strip, and to avert a total collapse of health services in the Strip.

-         The ICRC to intervene with Israeli authorities to allow the safe and timely passage of Gaza Strip medical and food needs, noting that the siege imposed on the Strip has led to the death of dozens of patients and deterioration in the health conditions of thousands of others.

-         IOF to respect International Law and International Human Rights Law, and to cease any policies or measures that hinder the provision of health services, which have deteriorated to unprecedented levels in the Gaza Strip.