The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B’Tselem) denounced that Tel Aviv prevents many patients from leaving the coastal enclave to receive medical treatment.

Instead of facilitating their departure that is available a few kilometers away, the Israeli authorities obstruct that possibility through several arbitrary instructions and procedures, thus condemning them to suffer illnesses until death, human rights noted.

B’Tselem explained that thousands of sick people are forced to submit applications for permits to access hospitals in the West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel, or other countries, but only a fraction are accepted.

According to data from the World Health Organization, more than 15,400 people from that territory submitted requests for treatment abroad in 2021, but only 2,165 citizens, 14 percent of the total, were authorized.

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