The Palestinian Minister of Health, Dr. Mai Al-Keela, confirmed that the Israeli occupation authorities have prevented the entry of anti-Coronavirus vaccines that the ministry will conduct on Monday into the Gaza Strip.
The Minister held the occupation authorities fully responsible for this "arbitrary measure that is contrary to all international norms, laws and agreements."
She indicated that two thousand doses of the Russian "Sputnik-V" vaccine were transferred to the Gaza Strip, but the occupation authorities prevented their introduction.
And she added - in a press release - that these doses were intended for medical teams working in intensive care rooms designated for Covid-19 patients, and staff working in emergency departments.
And she stressed that the Palestinian government and the Ministry of Health are reaching out to international organizations to introduce vaccines as quickly as possible to the Gaza Strip.
This was the first batch of Corona vaccines to Gaza, whose health sector suffers - due to the 14 years of the Israeli blockade - a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, which undermines the chances of facing the outbreak of the virus.
On February 4, the Ministry of Health announced that it had received 10,000 doses of the Russian vaccine, and confirmed that a new batch of vaccines would arrive in Palestine in the coming days, without mentioning specific dates.
As of Monday, the total number of infections with the Coronavirus in Palestine reached 190,316, including 2,133 deaths, and among the total infections, 53,593 cases had been recorded in Gaza, of which 537 were deaths.