Palestine Today 022609

Palestinian man dies in Gaza due to the Israeli siege and a boy is killed by an Israeli explosive device in the West Bank. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned.

The Newscast

A Palestinian patient died on Thursday at a Gaza hospital after the Israeli army barred him from leaving the Gaza Strip for medical treatment abroad, Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported.

The patient was identified as Husam Hallas, 30, from Al Shujaeyya neighborhood east of Gaza City. He suffered from a heart disease which the Israeli siege left Gaza hospitals unable to treat as most of their equipment is out of service and their medicine stores are out of basic supplies. Hallas had all necessary papers and transfer documents but Israel still barred his transfer.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that with the death of Hallas, the number of patients including children and elderly who have died due to the Israeli siege has reached 291. The Ministry added that Hallas is the nineteenth patient who dies in this month due the siege.

In other news, a Palestinian resistance group, calling itself Hezbollah-Gaza, announced that it fired two home-made shells at Israeli targets. Israeli sources said that these landed in the Negev area causing damage but no injuries.

Elsewhere a Palestinian boy from Tubas city in the northern West Bank was killed on Thursday afternoon after an explosive device left by the Israeli army exploded next to him.

Doctors reported that Jamal Faqha, 16, sustained injures to his chest and abdomen; a metal object hit his heart killing him. Meanwhile medics said that other three young teenagers sustained moderate wounds due to the explosion. The Israeli army issued no statement regarding the incident.

Also in the northern part of the West Bank, four Palestinian civilians were reported to have been kidnapped by the Israeli troops during pre-dawn invasions targeting the city of Jenin and nearby village of Ya'bod on Thursday.

Witnesses said that Israeli troops stormed Jenin city, searched homes down town then kidnapped one civilian. Earlier on Wednesday night, local sources said that Israeli forces kidnapped three youths from the village of Ya'bod near Jenin whilst they were trying to plant and explosive device on the nearby settlers' road, military sources said.

The families of the three boys told local media that the three were on their way back home and did not have any explosives with them.

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 by Ghassan Bannoura and George Rishmawi.