We pay tribute to our martyrs and pray for a speedy recovery for our wounded people. We pay tribute to our people who have come together to participate in the Great Return March, adhering to their permanent and legitimate rights, foremost the natural right to return and establish an independent state of Palestine with Jerusalem as eternal capital.

The Israeli occupation forces use excessive and lethal force to target peaceful demonstrators in the Great Return March which is considered a flagrant violation of rights protected in the international treaties. These violations amount to war crimes.

Health Institutions in the Gaza Strip regret the failure of the international community to reach a resolution condemning the violations committed by the Israeli occupation. They believe that this failure will encourage the Israeli occupation to continue to commit more crimes against our people.

We hold this press conference in light of the continued Israeli occupation's unjust blockade on the Gaza Strip which continues for more than 12 years. The blockade has strongly affected the economic, social, health situation in the Gaza Strip and left a psychological impact on the people there due to high rates of unemployment and poverty and the unprecedented food insecurity, which has led to a serious deterioration in health conditions at all levels. Moreover, more than half of the Palestinian patients and their companions are banned from traveling outside the Gaza Strip for treatment.

The continued political division and its repercussions have greatly affected the health situation in the Gaza Strip and the ability to deal with the growing needs, especially these days, as Gaza witnessing an escalation in the Israeli occupation's aggression and attacks against the Palestinian people, as well as the power outage and the increasing shortage of funding allocated to the Gaza Strip , all of which led to a decline in health services provided to patients, especially to the marginalized groups in the society.

Every year, on April 7^th, the world celebrates World Health Day. This year it is dedicated to the theme of 'Comprehensive Medical Insurance' to support the continued struggle to achieve a comprehensive medical insurance in different countries around the globe.

We as representatives of the health sector of Palestinian NGOs Network came to the Return Camp in eastern Gaza to raise the voice that 'comprehensive medical insurance' is not available in the occupied Palestinian territories and the right to health would never be guaranteed to the Palestinian people like the rest of the world as long as the Israeli occupation to the Palestinian land and blockade on the Gaza Strip continue.

As representatives of the Health Sector in the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO), we commemorate World Health Day in our own Palestinian way, as the suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip is increasing, we emphasize the following:

• The Palestinian people have the right to easily access safe healthcare services.


• A speedy end to the internal political division is needed. The Palestinian national consensus government should take over its responsibilities towards the Gaza Strip, primarily for the health sector to improve the health situation and health services.


• We call on the international community and the international organizations to put pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip, open the crossings in both directions, and facilitate the movement of patients and their companions.


• We call upon the donors to expedite the provision of financial support to health institutions in the Gaza Strip to enable them to provide services and deal with emergency conditions in light of the increasing numbers of the wounded in the Great Return March.


• We call upon the international community and the human rights organizations to provide protection for medical personnel as well as for civilian demonstrators participating in the peaceful Return March events.


• We call for holding the Israeli occupation leaders accountable for violations against the Palestinian civilians in the peaceful Great Return March.

Finally, we pay tribute to all our people, as well as our colleagues in medical teams working under extremely difficult circumstances, in order to provide medical services with all due respect, despite occupation's attacks against them and the lack of medicines and medical supplies and equipments.