Source: UN News: Sunday, 08 February 2026 00:01 AM
Patients suffering from this disease in the Gaza Strip expressed their plight on Wednesday, February 4, on ‘World Cancer Day’, saying that their condition is worsening, the pain is not being treated and the exits for better treatment are closed. A checkpoint has been opened in Rafah, located in the southern part of Gaza, on the border with Egypt, through which a limited number of patients suffering from serious diseases have been sent out for treatment, but this number is very limited. “We are dying. Every day, two to three patients die in this hospital. I can’t stand up from my bed because of the pain. We need a solution, open the checkpoints,” Munther Abu Fool, a cancer patient admitted to Gaza’s largest hospital, said as he lay in his bed. His words reflect the reality facing thousands of cancer patients in the Gaza Strip, where access to specialized care has collapsed. And options to travel to other countries are out of reach for many. Local health organizations have warned that about 11,000 patients in Gaza either do not have access to specialist care or are deprived of diagnosis and treatment. Nearly 4,000 patients have been referred to hospitals outside Gaza, but they have been waiting for more than two years to travel. UN News visited Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City and gathered information on the challenging situation in the oncology department. Hospitals are crowded with patients waiting for doctor’s advice and treatment that is no longer available. Much-needed medicines and equipment are available in limited quantities, while many patients have been suffering pain for a long time and are no longer able to walk. UN News A man takes care of his cancer-stricken brother in Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital. Patients die every day Cancer patient Munthar Abu Fool was granted documents to leave Gaza for medical reasons a long time ago, but more than two years have passed and he is still there. “The health situation in the Gaza Strip is at its worst. There are neither medicines nor treatments, and we are dying. Every day, two to three patients die in this hospital,” he said, pleading for help. Said that the border posts will have to be opened in a proper manner, so that God can liberate us from this suffering. Everyone’s accountability will be fixed.” In another ward, Raed Abu Warda is taking care of her brother Hameed. Due to the long delay in treatment for cancer, his condition has deteriorated, and his life is in danger. Raed said that his brother has been suffering from cancer for the last two years. He waited for a long time for the post to open so that he could get treatment outside. The pain has increased a lot. “I stand here looking at my brother and mourning his condition, in the grip of excruciating pain.” Huge needs, limited options The number of people seeking care in oncology departments in the Gaza Strip is increasing, while there is a shortage of medicines, equipment, and specialized health staff. For patients who have recently been diagnosed with their disease, the future looks uncertain. After the opening of the Rafah checkpoint, World Health Organization has arranged for the evacuation of patients and their loved ones out of Gaza, and has provided safe transportation. Despite this, the current needs far outweigh the options for assistance. UN News Munthar Abu Fool, admitted to a hospital in the Gaza Strip, is suffering from cancer. ‘We just want to live’ According to the UN health agency, more than 18 thousand patients are waiting to be flown out of Gaza for treatment, including 4 thousand children. Last week, the UN humanitarian office quoted the local health ministry as saying that 1,200 patients have died while waiting to be flown out for medical reasons. Four thousand seriously ill cancer patients are on waiting lists and trapped in closed checkpoints and an overburdened health system. But for patients like Munthar Abu Phool, time is passing fast. “We’re dying. We just want to find some way to live.”
