In Gaza patients protest the siege at the Rafah Crossing and the military attacks villages in the West Bank kidnapping a number of teenagers; these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.

The News Cast

Scores of patients from various parts of the Gaza Strip protested on Thursday at the Rafah Border Crossing located between Egypt and southern Gaza.

Local sources said people carried banners calling for Egypt to open the crossing and to keep it free of politics. The patients demanded that they be allowed to travel for treatment outside the Gaza Strip since the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza have left the hospitals there unable to treat many illnesses.

According to the Department responsible for Borders and Crossings at least 700 Palestinian patients are waiting for the opening of the Rafah border crossing in order to access adequate treatment outside the Strip.

Many of those waiting were injured during the Israeli offensive against Gaza which ended in mid January. Israel's 22 month-long siege of Gaza has claimed the lives of 320 Palestinian patients. Doctors say that number may increase rapidly if the closure continues.

The Cast Lead military attack on Gaza started on December 27th 2008, and ended on the 18 of January 2009. It left 1,400 Palestinians dead, 6,000 injured and at least 10,000 homeless.

The most recent victims of the siege are two women who died on Tuesday this week. Both had applied for permission to leave Gaza for treatment but their applications were denied by Israel.

Also in the News Today, the Israeli military kidnapped four Palestinian teenagers and attacked a kindergarten during invasions targeting villages near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday.

Local sources said Israeli troops invaded the village of Beit Ruosh, near Hebron, searching homes.

Troops left the village after kidnapping four teenagers. Another force attacked the village of Saffa, where troops searched homes, storming and ransacking a local kindergarten. The villagers said Israeli troops removed a Palestinian flag from the kindergarten before leaving.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you Ghassan Bannoura and Ardil Jabar.