For the past year and a half, the Israeli Occupation Forces has deprived 244 thalassemia patients in the Gaza Strip of their right to treatment and healthcare. IOF has cut off entry of essential medicines and imposed a starvation policy that has led to a severe shortage of blood units amid the total collapse of the healthcare system.

These harsh conditions have claimed the lives of 40 patients, including 28 due to lack of treatment and nutrition, and 12 as a result of bombardment on residential neighborhoods across different areas of the Strip.

Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disorder that causes a drop in hemoglobin levels in the body, leading to chronic anemia that requires lifelong treatment and regular blood transfusions.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights believes the deliberate infliction of these deadly conditions to patients is a grave violation of international law and falls under the acts of genocide provided in Article 2(c) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.