The family of Muhammad Junaid, an elderly patient suffering renal failure, had prepared all the paperwork needed for him to be able to travel abroad for medical treatment, but the siege meant that he had to stay and die in Gaza.

Ibrahim al-Ghoul, another elderly patient, also died as a result of lack of medicine and being barred from travelling abroad to seek treatment.

The death of three other patients was announced on Thursday by PCAS; Nafisa Ashour, Naima Yassin and salim al-Hanady, all of them were cancer patients who were denied seeking treatment outside the Gaza Strip because of the siege.

Abdu called on the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah crossing, at least for emergency cases such as stranded patients and students.