Region | Palestinian Territories
Fleeing Gazans still trapped in tunnel
Hundreds of frightened Palestinians spent another night in a tunnel leading to Israel, trying to flee the chaos and threats of violence in Gaza but trapped by Hamas militants on one end and Israeli forces on the other.
- Agencies
- Published: 09:25 June 20, 2007
Erez Crossing, Gaza Strip: Hundreds of frightened Palestinians spent another night in a tunnel leading to Israel, trying to flee the chaos and threats of violence in Gaza but trapped by Hamas militants on one end and Israeli forces on the other.
The Palestinians, including many women and children, were short of food and water in the steamy tunnel, which is part of the Erez crossing and has no sanitary facilities.
Elsewhere, Israel allowed a food aid shipment into Gaza on Tuesday, the first since Islamic Hamas took over the territory in a lightning conquest of rival Fatah forces last week.
Israel's Supreme Court is scheduled Wednesday to hear a petition by local rights group Physicians for Human Rights demanding that Israeli authorities offer immediate medical
treatment to any of the Gazans stranded at Erez who are in need of it, the group said.
Ran Yaron, a doctor with the group, told Israel Radio on Wednesday that 15 Palestinians' lives are in danger and the necessary treatment is not available in the Gaza Strip.
"Israel has a responsibility since it closed the ... crossings," Yaron said. "It has the responsibility to find a solution for these patients."
Israel allowed in two Palestinians wounded in a shootout at the terminal, the army and medical officials said. Three other people wounded in the Palestinian infighting last week also were allowed to pass. The army did not provide details of the identities of the wounded, who were taken to Israeli hospitals.
As the standoff stretched on, the scene inside the tunnel grew increasingly desperate.
Women, children and young men sat between two high concrete walls Tuesday, about 10 meters apart, looking tired and grimy. Suitcases and trash were strewn on the ground.
Some families sat on mats, others on bare asphalt, including several men with bloody bandages on their legs. A breeze barely stirred between the walls, and the tunnel, which has no toilets, reeked of urine and sweat.
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