Gaza Residents Claim Medical Blackmail

Some Palestinians in Gaza are complaining that Israel's intelligence service has tried to make urgently needed medical care contingent on cooperation with the spy agency.

Since Hamas seized the Gaza Strip early last summer, the narrow coastal territory has been virtually cut off from the outside world. The United Nations has warned that the nearly 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza continue to slip deeper into poverty and isolation under Hamas' rule and Israel's strict border closures.

Now, some Gazans say the intelligence service is trading emergency medical care for cooperation. The Red Cross and several international human rights groups say they're troubled by the charges.