The Gaza Health Ministry has declared a total halt to chemotherapy and critical follow up care for cancer patients, leaving thousands without lifesaving treatment in what officials describe as a worsening humanitarian disaster.  

With Israel’s blockade severing access to medical supplies and referrals abroad, 11,000 cancer patients in Gaza face agonising uncertainty. A further 5,000 urgently need specialised treatment outside the besieged enclave including chemotherapy and radiotherapy but remain trapped as crossings stay closed.  

The shutdown of the European Hospital and Gaza Cancer Centre has stripped patients of their last hope for oncology care, while 64% of essential cancer drugs have run out. Without early detection equipment or consistent monitoring, health workers warn that survival rates are plummeting.  

“Cancer patients in Gaza are enduring unimaginable suffering medically, psychologically, and economically,” the Ministry stated, urging international intervention to force Israel to permit medical evacuations and the entry of vital drugs.  

The healthcare system in Gaza, ravaged by relentless siege and attacks, now teeters on total collapse, with chronic shortages pushing preventable deaths ever higher. For cancer patients, time is running out.