ICSPR On World Cancer Day… Gaza’s Cancer Patients Face a Slow Death Under Bombardment, Siege, and the Collapse of the Health System

Date: February 1, 2025

Press Statement

 ICSPR On World Cancer Day… Gaza’s Cancer Patients Face a Slow Death Under Bombardment, Siege, and the Collapse of the Health System

February 4 of each year marks World Cancer Day, an international occasion to renew humanitarian and ethical commitment toward cancer patients, strengthen prevention and treatment efforts, and guarantee the right to healthcare without discrimination. However, this occasion comes this year for cancer patients in Palestine—particularly in the Gaza Strip—amid one of the harshest chapters of humanitarian suffering in modern history, as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression and the crime of genocide now entering its third year. This aggression has created a catastrophic health reality, reducing treatment centers to rubble and depriving thousands of their fundamental right to life and medical care.

The International Commission (ICSPR) states that documented data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reflect the scale of the tragedy:

Number of patients:
There are more than 12,500 cancer patients in the Gaza Strip facing a slow death.

Collapse of the health system:
The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital (the only specialized oncology center in Gaza) has completely ceased operations after being targeted and heavily damaged, resulting in the total absence of chemotherapy and radiotherapy services within the Strip.
A total of 162 health institutions were targeted; 34 hospitals and 80 health centers were put out of service; 142 ambulances were bombed; and 1,402 medical personnel were killed while performing their humanitarian duties, while hundreds of healthcare workers were arrested.

Waiting lists and death:
More than 22,000 patients and wounded individuals are registered on waiting lists to travel abroad for treatment, including at least 5,000 cancer patients (among them hundreds of children) who urgently require medical intervention to save their lives.

Deaths:
Mortality rates among cancer patients in Gaza have risen alarmingly, reaching three times the levels recorded before 2023, at an average of three deaths per day due to the lack of medication, malnutrition, and the spread of diseases in displacement camps.

Denial of travel:
Since the closure of the Rafah Crossing and its takeover by the occupation in May 2024, only a very small number—no more than 10% of critical cases—have been able to leave, while occupation authorities continue to deny permits to the rest under flimsy security pretexts.

A policy of deliberate killing through the closure of crossings

The International Commission (ICSPR) affirms that the continued closure of the Rafah and Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossings to patients, and the prevention of the entry of medicines and medical supplies for cancer patients, constitutes a “death sentence” with premeditation. The Israeli occupation uses the denial of medical treatment as a tool of genocide, in blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the rulings of the International Court of Justice, which have affirmed the necessity of unhindered medical aid flows.

The International Commission for Supporting Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) stresses that the right to health is a fundamental right guaranteed under international law, and that depriving cancer patients of treatment constitutes a grave violation of the obligations of the occupying power, which is required under the Geneva Conventions to ensure medical care for the civilian population. The use of siege and restrictions on treatment as tools of pressure against civilians represents a form of collective punishment prohibited under international law.

The Commission further affirms that international silence regarding what cancer patients in Gaza are enduring amounts to complicity, granting the occupation a green light to continue targeting the most vulnerable segment of Palestinian society.

Accordingly, in light of this catastrophic situation, the International Commission for Supporting Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) calls for the following:

• ICSPR calls on the international community and the World Health Organization:
  To intervene immediately and exert serious pressure on the occupation authorities to open all crossings, ensure the safe and smooth evacuation of cancer patients to receive treatment abroad, and guarantee the urgent and unconditional entry of cancer medications and medical supplies.

• ICSPR calls on the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions:
  To fulfill their legal and moral obligations to protect civilians and patients, and to recognize the denial of medical treatment as a war crime that requires international criminal accountability.

• ICSPR calls on international humanitarian organizations:
  To work toward establishing specialized field hospitals inside the Gaza Strip and to urgently provide chemotherapy drugs and essential pain relief medications to alleviate the suffering of patients forced to lie on the ground in displacement shelters.

End

The International Commission for Supporting Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR)