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More Gazans will be unable to seek medical treatment and other services in Israel and the West Bank because of a new security tightening initiative imposed by Israeli authorities.

Israel has raised the maximum age of patient chaperones it requires to undergo security checks from 35 to 55 years old. Before the latest development, Gazans who sought to accompany an ill relative or friend to a hospital or facility outside of Gaza were forced to undergo a security check. This meant that anyone under 35 was essentially denied permission to leave Gaza under these circumstances, but those over 35 were allowed to obtain a chaperone’s permit. Now only those over 55 will even be considered for permits to accompany individuals out of Gaza. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, sources in Gaza have confirmed that those under 55 will unilaterally be denied the permits.

The Israeli human rights NGO Gisha--the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, told Haaretz that “the new regulation poses a significant obstacle for Gazan patients, especially children. Gazan sources note that in many cases, the parents of sick children are in their 20s and the grandparents in their 40s, which means that even grandparents would have difficulty obtaining a permit to serve as a chaperone.”

According to the same organization, the unemployment rate in Gaza recently climbed again to 42.7%, leaving the approximately 2 million residents of the 41 kilometer strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Egypt to the south and Israel to the East, with little resources and hope for the future. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade on Gaza since 2007, rarely allowing building materials or medical supplies to reach those in need.

During Israel’s latest 51-day offensive on Gaza called Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, the UN reports that nearly 7 in 10 Gazans killed were civilians. 13 public hospitals were destroyed by Israeli air force strikes, leaving the already tight health resources in dire straits.

Not only does Israel’s new security initiative limit the age of those able to leave Gaza, it also reduces the number of illnesses acceptable to obtain a permit with. For instance, those with kidney and eye diseases as well as neurological and orthopedic ailments have reported difficulty getting permits. Israel justifies this decision saying that those with these illnesses delay their return to the strip.

In a related story, earlier in November three doctors and a nurse, employees of the Gaza Ministry of Health, were denied entry into Britain for a medical conference planned months in advance. The Palestinian doctors, sponsored by the World Health Organization, were banned from attending a lecture about trauma in war zones--a vital topic to doctors in a besieged area.

Doctors working with NGOs and medical missions are also frequently denied entry into Gaza, even members of world renowned Physicians for Human Rights.