United Nations Radio

The International Committee of the Red Cross warns that the stringent restrictions imposed by Israel on movement in and out of Gaza are causing suffering to the Palestinians in the territory.

Children in Gaza.

In a report released on Monday, the agency says the people of Gaza are struggling to make ends meet. Seriously ill patients are not getting the treatment they need.

The report points out that thousands of Gazans, whose homes were destroyed during the conflict between Hamas and Israeli forces six months ago, remain without adequate shelter.

The Director of the Red Cross in Gaza, Antoine Grand says the closure of Gaza, which started after Hamas took over the territory in June 2007, is affecting every aspect of life there.

"It has an impact on health, on education, on the agricultural sector, in the fishing sector. Patients that are in need of urgent treatment not available in Gaza and who need to travel outside have difficulties, Nowadays, it's around 100 patients leaving every week, but before the closure it was 500 patients. So you have people with very urgent operations that have to wait 10 months. "

Antoine Grand says while Israel has the right to protect its population against attacks, the one-and-a-half million people in Gaza should not have to pay the price by living in misery.

The International Committee of the Red Cross demands that the restrictions imposed on the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza be lifted.