Doctors in Gaza say cancer patients are dying at two to three times the rate before the war in the Strip, and that Israel is preventing many from traveling for treatment after destroying Gaza’s only specialized cancer facility.
Israel bombed the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, a cancer treatment center, last year, meaning that some 17,000 Gazans with cancer have no option within the Palestinian enclave to receive chemotherapy or other advanced treatments.
Few Palestinians can afford to travel for treatment, and even those who can face Israeli restrictions.
The Israeli military imposes strict limits on daily crossings into Egypt, despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas reached last year that stipulated freedom of movement to and from the Strip.
Palestinian health officials said that 11,000 people, including patients, have crossed the Rafah crossing since it reopened, less than half the number expected under the ceasefire agreement.
