Gaza doctors report rising cancer deaths
Gaza doctors say cancer patients are dying at two to three times the prewar pace after Israel destroyed the enclave’s only specialized cancer hospital. The loss of that facility has left an estimated 17,000 people with cancer without a local option for chemotherapy or other advanced treatment.
Medical workers said that many patients cannot afford to travel for care, and those who can face Israeli restrictions on movement. The military also limits daily crossings to Egypt, despite a 2025 ceasefire agreement that called for free movement in and out.
Mohamed Abu Selmia of Al Shifa said the hospital has been recording three to five cancer deaths a day because patients are not receiving the chemotherapy they need. Sobhi Skaik, who led the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, said deaths before the war were about one to two per day, and attributed the increase to the absence of local treatment and border restrictions.
Key Events
- Israel destroyed Gaza’s only specialized cancer hospital last year, after saying a tunnel used by Hamas was found beneath it.
- Doctors said roughly 17,000 people with cancer in Gaza no longer have a local option for chemotherapy or other advanced treatment.
- Gaza doctors reported that cancer patients are now dying at two to three times the prewar rate.
- Mohamed Abu Selmia of Al Shifa said the hospital has recorded three to five cancer deaths a day because patients are not receiving chemotherapy.
- Sobhi Skaik said prewar cancer deaths were about one to two per day, or roughly 1.7 per day in some estimates.
- Doctors said rising deaths are linked to the lack of local treatment and restrictions on crossing borders for care.