“We are dying and we want a solution.”: Cancer patients in Gaza are stuck waiting for treatment outside the Strip

Coinciding with World Cancer Day (February 4), local health organizations in the Gaza Strip warned that about 11,000 patients in Gaza are deprived of specialized and diagnostic treatment inside and outside the Strip, while four thousand patients who have had referrals for treatment outside Gaza for more than two years have been waiting for the crossings to open so that they can travel for treatment.

Our correspondent in Gaza visited Al-Shifa Hospital – the largest hospital in the Strip – and documented for us through his lens the suffering of cancer patients in the dilapidated oncology department, where large numbers of patients are crowded waiting for consultations and specialized treatments that are not available.

Inside the department, patients suffer from a lack of medicines and basic equipment, while many others suffer from chronic pain that prevents them from moving.

“Every day two or three patients die.”

Munther Abu Foul lies on his sick bed, burdened with pain, fighting a chronic cancer in a place where treatment is no longer available. He flips through his medical referral papers for treatment outside the Gaza Strip, but he has not been able to travel for more than two years.

Abu Foul appeals to save him, saying:“The health situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating, and there is no treatment or medicine, and we are dying. Every day between two and three patients die here inside this hospital. I cannot get out of bed because of the pain. We want a solution. Open the crossings well, so that God can relieve us (our suffering). Everyone will be held accountable to God, and everyone will be asked.”

In another scene, Muhammad Hamo appears caring for his elderly mother, who is suffering from cancer, demanding that treatment be provided within the Gaza Strip or that she be allowed to be transferred abroad. And he said: “We stand here in front of the patient as he dies without treatment or any medical capabilities to help him recover. This is something that does not please God or please people. We call on all Islamic, Arab and international nations to look at the sick with compassion.”

I stand and feel sorry for my brother

Raed Abu Wardeh is also shown taking care of his brother Hamid Abu Wardeh, who is suffering from complications from a serious tumor in his neck as a result of delayed treatment. Raed explained his brother’s suffering to us by saying: “He has been suffering from cancer for two years. His disease was small and benign. He has a medical referral (for treatment abroad). He was waiting the whole time for the crossing to open so that he could be treated abroad. His pain has increased, as you can see. The disease has created a hole under his chin, and his condition is getting worse every day. I stand watching my brother and feel sorry for his condition because of the pain.”

It is noteworthy that the number of visitors to oncology departments in hospitals in the Gaza Strip is constantly increasing, at a time when these departments suffer from a severe shortage of medical capabilities necessary to meet the basic needs of patients, which exacerbates their suffering and makes the fate of new patients unknown.

With the limited reopening of the Rafah crossing, the World Health Organization supports the evacuation of patients and their companions from Gaza. Her role focuses on ensuring safe transportation of patients. More than 18,000 patients, including 4,000 children, are awaiting evacuation from Gaza to receive treatment abroad.

At the end of last month He said The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that more than 1,200 patients had died – according to reports – while waiting for their medical evacuation from the Strip, and that about 4,000 cancer patients were registered on critical waiting lists for medical evacuation.