The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) responded to reports in international media outlets, including the BBC and the Guardian, that Mara Abu Zuhri, 20, who died in Italy after being evacuated from Gaza, died of malnutrition.
COGAT stated that Abu Zuhri suffered from leukemia and that the Italian authorities had approached Israel with a request to evacuate her for medical treatment. It was also stated that Israel had offered earlier dates for evacuation.
According to COGAT, "The State of Israel facilitates the medical transfer of patients, with an emphasis on children, while Hamas continues to cynically exploit them for its own twisted agenda."