Gaza's wounded desperate for Rafah crossing to reopen
STORY: Five-year-old Mohammed lost his sight and suffered a head wound during Israeli shelling.
But he is stuck waiting in a hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, because the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt is closed.
His mother, Ni'ma Ali Imad, is desperate to get him out of Gaza for the medical treatment local doctors say they can't provide.
Gaza's medical system has virtually collapsed, witnesses say.
"The doctors here did what they could, but we still need the official sides (authorities) to cooperate with us and open the border crossing, because this is a child, and we would want him to live like other children in the world. He has the right to treatment; he has the right for medical care."
Egypt blames the closure on Israeli military operations around Rafah.
Israel, which seized control of the crossing last week, said on Tuesday it was up to Egypt to reopen it - remarks described by Cairo as "desperate attempts" to shift the blame.
Abdul Rahim Al Ayoubi appealed for Arab and international help for Gazans to travel abroad for treatment.
“I was wounded for the sake of a bag of flour. I got ten shots. Eight shots were from a tank in my leg, one shot in my pelvis, and a shot my hand of course. Until now, I am suffering from the pain. I do not have any treatment. There is no treatment in the hospital."
As well as shutting down a vital evacuation route for patients in Gaza, the shutdown has left desperately needed foreign aid piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.
