A medical worker displays swab samples collected to test for COVID-19 in Gaza City, Feb. 16, 2021. Palestine on Tuesday called for an urgent international intervention to pressure Israel to allow the shipment of the coronavirus vaccines into the besieged Gaza Strip. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
RAMALLAH, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Tuesday called for an urgent international intervention to pressure Israel to allow the shipment of the coronavirus vaccines into the besieged Gaza Strip.
Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem told a news briefing in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the Israeli move to prevent the entry of coronavirus vaccines into Gaza "violates both international and humanitarian laws."
He called on the World Health Organization "to condemn the Israeli measure and exert immediate pressure on Israel to allow the shipment of the vaccines into the Gaza Strip."
On Monday, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila accused Israel of banning the shipment of the first batch of 2,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik vaccine into the Gaza Strip.
"The doses were intended for medical staff working in intensive care units designated for COVID-19 patients and the staff working in emergency health departments," al-Kaila said. Enditem
A medical worker collects a swab sample from a child for COVID-19 test in Gaza City, Feb. 16, 2021. Palestine on Tuesday called for an urgent international intervention to pressure Israel to allow the shipment of the coronavirus vaccines into the besieged Gaza Strip. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
A medical worker collects a swab sample from a child for COVID-19 test in Gaza City, Feb. 16, 2021. Palestine on Tuesday called for an urgent international intervention to pressure Israel to allow the shipment of the coronavirus vaccines into the besieged Gaza Strip. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
