Girl child dies after Israeli forces delay her transfer to hospital

A Palestinian child with special needs, from Awarta town in Nablus, died on Friday evening after Israeli soldiers obstructed her transfer to hospital.

Palestinian medical sources said that nine-year-old Dalal Lawlah died after Israeli soldiers at Huwara checkpoint prevented her father from taking her swiftly to Rafidia hospital.

The sources added that Dalal was unable to breathe and needed urgent medical intervention, but delaying her transfer to the hospital for about half an hour led to her death.

The child’s father, Deeb, told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that he tried at first to use the main road through Awarta checkpoint to take her daughter, who was a child with special needs, to a hospital in Nablus after she suffered a health problem, and argued with soldiers to convince them to let him through, but to no avail.

Later, he said, he had to go to Huwara checkpoint, which was closed at the time because of skirmishes in the area.

After a long hold-up on the road, the ambulance carrying the child arrived at the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the father added.

The father held the Israeli occupation army fully responsible for the death of his daughter, accusing Israeli soldiers of firing tear gas grenades at the ambulance.