[fse-esf] Urgent & Serious: Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Destroys Medical Relief Head Office, Kills Baby

[Florent Schaeffer]

Dear all,
The main clinic and central pharmacy of PMRS in Gaza have been  
destroyed, as well as an ambulance and all the administrative offices.  
While the siege of Gaza puts a terrible strain on the health system  
this latest Israeli attack is a disaster for PMRS and for the people  
of Gaza.
Please circulate widely the press release below.
A call for solidarity to try and reopen a clinic as soon as possible  
will follow soon.
Thanks.
fs

=======================================================================


Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Destroys Medical Relief Head Office, Kills  
Baby

Ramallah, 28/02/2008. An Israeli airstrike aimed at the ministry of  
interior building in Gaza City also destroyed the nearby Palestinian  
Medical Relief Society (PMRS) head office in Gaza and killed a 5-month- 
old baby in a residential building in the same area.

The PMRS head office was housing the main PMRS clinic in the Gaza  
Strip, the main pharmacy, an ambulance, a loan centre for handicapped  
people and all the administrative offices. The ambulance, all the  
medicine and most of the equipment have been destroyed. The building  
itself is badly damaged and cannot be used again without extensive  
repairs.

The attack also hit a nearby residential building, killing Mohamad  
Nasser Al-Borey, 5 months, in his family home.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, president of PMRS, declared “the collective  
punishment of Palestinians in Gaza has reached unbearable levels. This  
latest attack destroyed a key part of the already badly hit Gazan  
health system. Israel has lost all sense of humanity, and the silence  
of the international community enables its murderous escalation  
against a people imprisoned in a giant jail. These relentless  
violations of international law must be put to an end. It is a war  
crime under the Geneva Convention to target medical personnel.  
Regional organisations and individual States have to take actions to  
protect the Palestinian people from Israel. This must stop, now”.

Dr. Abdel Hadi Abu Khussa, director of PMRS in the Gaza Strip,  
declared that “the destruction of the main clinic, pharmacy, office  
and one ambulance are a terrible blow to PMRS activities and will  
increase the suffering of the people of Gaza. We are victims of  
Israeli collective punishment”.



Background: PMRS’ Work in the Gaza Strip

PMRS is one of the largest non-governmental health service providers  
in Palestine, reaching 1.4 million Palestinians in over 490 cities,  
towns and villages in 2007. This was achieved through the extensive  
physical and human network built in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the  
Gaza Strip in the 29 years since PMRS was established.

In Gaza, PMRS maintains four primary healthcare centres, two  
ambulances and two mobile clinics as well as an effective program to  
help people with disabilities, especially children. PMRS also runs an  
Individual Relief program for patients in need and a centre providing  
physiotherapy and assistive equipment to the disabled.

In response to the complete Israeli blockade of Gaza since January  
2008, PMRS had declared a status of emergency and was stepping up its  
emergency program to support the needs of the people of Gaza.

Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) – www.pmrs.ps – fax 00972 2  
296 99 91 – phone 00972 5 99 94 00 73
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.fse-esf.org/pipermail/fse-esf/attachments/20080228/32c37dec/attachment.html