The Palestinian Health Minister in Gaza said that cancer patients there are enduring unbearable and inhumane conditions.
Over 10,000 cancer patients in Gaza are currently denied the necessary medical care following the forced closure of the Palestinian-Turkish Friendship Hospital, due to the ongoing Israeli aggression, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The Palestinian Health Minister in Gaza said that cancer patients there are enduring unbearable and inhumane conditions, lacking any access to specialized cancer treatment medications.
The third and final floor of the Palestinian-Turkish Friendship Hospital, the only hospital in Gaza for treatment of cancer patients, was targeted by Israeli airstrikes by the end of October, causing significant damage and rendering the hospital out of service.
Scores of Palestinian civilians, including children and women, were killed and others injured amid the nonstop Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling across Gaza.https://t.co/9rGYn9naqV pic.twitter.com/4bviwN75nE
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 2, 2024
Financed by the Turkish government, the hospital stands as one of the largest medical facilities in Palestine, solely dedicated to treating cancer patients in Gaza.
Covering an area of 34,800 square meters and spanning three floors, the hospital had 180 beds. The absence of this crucial medical facility exacerbates the already challenging situation for cancer patients in the besieged enclave.
‘Patients Will Die Slowly, Painfully’
In a statement on December 21, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, warned that “without medicines and other essential needs, all patients will die slowly and painfully.”
He said, “until two days ago, Al-Ahli was northern Gaza’s last hospital functioning where injured people could undergo surgery.”
“But our team learned today that its operating theaters are no longer functioning due to the depletion, or complete absence, of specialists, power, fuel, water, food and medical supplies,” Ghebreyesus said.
Israeli forces continue to withdraw from parts of northern Gaza under intense Palestinian Resistance in all axes, especially in the Tufah and Daraj neighborhoods in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues to strike and shell Khan Yunis, in the south, and Deir… pic.twitter.com/WHwSrbENcE
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 2, 2024
He added “That has left north Gaza with no functional hospital. Only four hospitals operate at a minimum level, providing very limited care.”
Since the beginning of its aggression on Gaza, Israel has systematically targeted hospitals and medical centers in the besieged Strip.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 22,185 Palestinians have been killed, and 57,053 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(PC, WAFA)
