At least 700 Palestinian patients are waiting for the opening of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip so they can access medical treatment, according to the department responsible for border crossings. The department report, issued on Wednesday, said that many of those waiting are people who were injured during the Israeli Cast lead offensive on Gaza.
Israel's 22 month-long siege of Gaza has claimed the lives of 320 Palestinian patients. Doctors say the number may increase rapidly if the closure continues. The Cast Lead military attack on Gaza started on December 27th 2008, and ended on the 18 of January 2009. It left 1,400 Palestinians dead and 6,000 injured. An estimated further 10,000 were made homeless.
The most recent victims of the siege were two women who died on Tuesday. Both had applied for permission to leave Gaza for treatment but, according to medicals sources, their applications were turned down.
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