Cancer patients in Palestine’s Gaza have been struggling to access treatment after the Israeli army destroyed the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital on March 21.

The hospital, built by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) between 2011 and 2017 along the Netzarim Corridor, was Gaza’s primary facility for cancer care.

Its destruction has left a critical gap in treatment.

According to Halid Salih, a cancer patient, "The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was, until the attacks, the most important hospital for cancer patients in Gaza, with its experienced medical staff," despite frequent medication shortages and the detention of doctors and nurses by Israel.

Patients are now forced to rely on the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis, the sole facility in Gaza where cancer patients can receive treatment, said Dr Musa es-Sabah, the head of the hospital’s Oncology Department.

However, the hospital lacks chemotherapy drugs and medical equipment, and patients face major difficulties traveling between the north and south of the enclave.

Salihexpressed concern that the Gaza European Hospital might also be destroyed by Israeli attacks, forcing cancer patients to seek treatment abroad — a task made impossible by border closures.

Mother of child patient calls for help

Samir Hamza Muhammed Usfur is among Gaza’s cancer patients. He was diagnosed with leukemia after suffering a health issue.

He is now the only remaining child in his family, leaving his mother to plead for support from the World Health Organization and the Palestinian Health Ministry.

"My son has a spleen rupture and thrombocytopenia, and his immune system is at zero. His sister and brother have both died. He is left alone," said his mother.

The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, which had eight connected blocks, four operating rooms, intensive care units, labs and 180 patient rooms, with an area of 33,400 square meters (359,514 square feet), was the only hospital in Gaza with an oncology unit.

Israel has used the facility as a military base during its attacks on Gaza, now in their second year.

Military vehicles were seen inside and around the hospital. While the building’s structure remained intact, the medical equipment was heavily damaged.

On March 21, Israeli forces planted explosives inside the hospital, alleging it was being used by the Palestinian group Hamas for military purposes.

Over 50,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.