JERUSALEM, July 24, 2008 (WAFA) - Israeli group Physicians for Human Rights said on Thursday that the Israeli secret service has recently prevented fourteen critically ill patients from leaving the Gaza Strip for medical treatment due to 'security reasons'.

the group said in a press release tha among those blocked are two brothers, age 13 and 14, who are both blind and in critical need of treatment. Over the past two months, 120 patients have appealed to Physicians for Human Rights after being denied permission to leave Gaza for medical treatment.

Physicians for Human Rights reported that Israel has recently reduced drastically the number of Palestinian patients allowed out of the Gaza Strip for treatment. That number is now down to less than 20 per day.

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