The Gaza Center for Human Rights warned of an unprecedented surge in cancer mortality rates in the Gaza Strip, amid the near-total collapse of the healthcare system and the almost complete halt of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. This is compounded by the continued imposition of severe restrictions by the Israeli occupation authorities on travel allowances for treatment abroad, leaving this group of patients particularly vulnerable to a slow death within a besieged territory that has been suffering under a form of genocide for nearly three years.
In a statement, the Center expressed grave concern over the revelations by Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, that between four and five cancer patients are dying daily due to the complete denial of chemotherapy.
According to Abu Salmiya, approximately four thousand patients in the Gaza Strip are facing death due to the unavailability of this treatment. This situation is exacerbated by a severe shortage of essential medicines, exceeding fifty percent, and a lack of more than 70% of necessary medical supplies.
According to the latest World Health Organization data as of the end of December 2025, there are approximately 12,500 cancer patients of all ages in the Gaza Strip, with more than 2,000 new cases diagnosed annually, including 122 among children.
Furthermore, intravenous chemotherapy sessions and medical follow-up have almost completely ceased since mid-2025. The data also indicates that at least 1,400 patients have died while awaiting travel approvals for treatment outside the Gaza Strip, while thousands more remain on medical referral lists, awaiting approval from the Israeli authorities to travel for life-saving treatment.
The Gaza Center for Human Rights affirmed that the treatment of cancer patients in the Gaza Strip constitutes a blatant violation of Israel’s obligations, as an occupying power, under Articles 55 and 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. These articles require the occupying power to ensure the provision of medical supplies to the protected population and to maintain functioning health facilities and services.
The statement added that the deliberate denial of medicine and treatment also violates the right to health guaranteed under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and constitutes a form of collective punishment prohibited under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The Center stressed that the occupation’s continued pursuit of this policy, with prior knowledge of its deadly consequences, amounts to a war crime under the Rome Statute, including the deliberate infliction of severe suffering or serious injury to physical integrity or health, and is thus an act of systematic genocide.
