Red Cross says its medical team denied access to Gaza

Jan 4, 2009, 11:19 GMT

Geneva - A specialist medical team from the International Committee of the Red Cross has been unable to enter the Gaza Strip for the past three days, a spokeswoman for the organization said Sunday.

The team, comprised of two doctors and two nurses, was supposed to enter the enclave on Friday to help the local Palestinian medical staff, who were 'exhausted' and having trouble coping with the massive influx of injured people, she said.

Many of the wounds were complicated, requiring outside medical expertise, the spokeswoman said. The team was 'badly needed' and their presence in Gaza was 'essential.'

The Geneva-based ICRC had tried to get the team in last week as there were concerns that Israel might launch a ground operation, which indeed began Saturday night. Since the troops moved in, movement of aid workers has been severely restricted owing to security concerns.

The Red Cross said that they had initially been denied entry, a decision which was later reversed, but as Israel kept the Erez Crossing closed the medics remained locked out.

The ground operation began after a week-long aerial campaign by Israel's air-force. The Palestinian death toll has exceeded 460 people, about a quarter of them estimated by the United Nations to be civilians. Four Israelis, including three civilians, were killed by Palestinian rocket fire in the same period.