Three more patients die in Gaza due to the Israeli siege, and the Israeli military kidnaps seven Palestinians from the West Bank; these stories and more coming up - stay tuned.

The News Cast

Two children and an old woman were pronounced dead on Thursday in Gaza after Israeli authorities did not allow then to leave the coastal region for medical care, Palestinian sources reported.

Doctors said that Sujod Abu Bateen, 7, from Khan Younis city and Suleiman Abu Rajilah, 4, had heart conditions, while Bushra Al Fishawi, 71, had cancer. The doctors added that the three patients had completed all the required documents to leave Gaza for treatment but the Israeli army delayed them.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has said that the number of patients who died due to the Israeli siege on Gaza since June 2007 has now reached 304. Of those, 30412 patients have died since the beginning of March 2009.

Meanwhile Doctors say that they have many cases in Gaza that they can't treat because of the continuing Israeli siege. They added that patients wait for long time to get the necessary permissions to leave Gaza for treatment, putting their lives at risk.

Seven Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by Israeli troops on Thursday during a military invasion targeting the village of Tall located near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers stormed the village in the morning and bared people from getting in or out of the village. For several hours troops searched homes then took the seven men to an unknown detention camp, witnesses added.

In related news, Palestinian media sources reported that a number of invasions took place at villages near Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern part of the West Bank, no kidnappings were reported there.

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 Mary Arthur and Ghassan Bannoura.