Israel is assisting the Gaza Strip in dealing with an outbreak of influenza A/H1N1 by providing treatment and transferring vaccines, a government body said on Tuesday.

Approximately 10,000 vaccines against the global epidemic have so far been transferred to the Gaza Strip via Israel and the Israeli authorities are prepared to receive further requests, said a Defense Ministry unit responsible for coordinating civilian issues between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Meanwhile, several Gazans showing signs of the disease have been allowed into Israel for medical treatment, and the Jewish state is facilitating the entry of Palestinians in need of medical help, said the unit, adding that about 8,000 Gaza patients and their families have entered Israel for medical reasons so far this year.

Israel is "working with the Palestinian Civil Committee in Gaza, associated with the Ramallah-based Palestinian (National) Authority, to prevent further cases," said the coordinating body in a statement.

Colonel Moshe Levi, head of the unit's Gaza division, said that his team "is making great efforts on all levels and through all channels to assist the noncombatant Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip, with an emphasis on the field of health."

Since Hamas seized control of the Palestinian enclave in 2007, Israel has tightened its blockade around the costal strip. The international community has been urging Israel to lift the siege, with many accusing the measure of causing a humanitarian crisis among the 1.5 million Gazans.

Yet Israel defends the policy as a security measure, insisting that it constantly allows humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2009)