Officials say Gaza's health system suffers from major gaps in care for cancer patients, which they blame on the ongoing Israeli blockade of the territory.
According to a Palestinian health ministry official, around 9,000 Palestinians in Gaza need treatment for cancer.
(Reuters)
Palestinian authorities on Sunday called on the international community and human rights organizations to redouble efforts to enhance diagnostic and treatment services for cancer patients in the blockaded territory.
Gaza has been reeling under years-long Israeli blockade since 2007
“Around 9,000 patients in Gaza are waiting for the necessary treatment,” Health Ministry official Abdul Latif al Hajj told a press conference in Gaza City.
He said the Gaza health system “suffers from major gaps in health care for cancer patients, including early detection, diagnostic services, radiological and chemotherapy treatment."
The Palestinian official appealed to the international community and human rights institutions “to assume their responsibilities and pressure Israel to allow the movement of patients to hospitals in Jerusalem and the West Bank for treatment."According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the number of cancer deaths in Gaza rose by 12.5 percent in 2021.
The ministry blames the lack of radiotherapy and atomic scanning due to the Israeli ban for the rise in the number of cancer deaths in the enclave.
The ministry said 6,000 cancer patients were admitted to the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in 2022, expecting the number to rise by 2,000 in 2023.
The hospital’s medical director, Mohamed Abu Nada, said all hospitals in Gaza lack radiotherapy due to the years-long Israeli blockade.
“Chemotherapy is available at the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital at a simple rate of up to 50%, while patients face serious conditions due to lack of this treatment,” he added.Many patients in Gaza depend on hospitals in occupied East Jerusalem, occupied West Bank and Israel to receive treatment and perform operations that are not available in the strip.
Iyad Abu Jalala, a cancer patient, still awaits an Israeli permit to receive medical attention at hospitals in the West Bank.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Abu Jalala said he "applied for this permit five times, and each time he was informed that his request was being studied.”
He appealed for exempting “the health sector from the Israeli blockade and for providing treatment and facilitating patients' access to hospitals abroad."
Home to nearly 2.3 million people, Gaza has been reeling under a years-long Israeli blockade since 2007, badly affecting livelihood in the seaside territory.
Source: AA
Social media is young.
Social media raises questions.
Social media is not satisfied with an answer.
Social media looks at the big picture.
Social media is interested in every detail.
social media is curious.
Social media is free.
Social media is irreplaceable.
But never irrelevant.
Social media is you.
(With input from news agency language)
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our
journalism free from government and corporate pressure .
0 Comments