PCHR: 350 Children Among Thousands of Gaza Cancer Patients Struggling Under Israeli Blockade

Palestinian clowns play with a child with cancer at el-Rantisi hospital in Gaza city on August 01, 2021. 2020 has been a rough year for cancer patients in the Gaza Strip. The usual restrictions and blockade were compounded by additional obstacles, which severely affected patient access to treatment: stricter criteria imposed by Israel, the collapse of the coordination mechanism between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, and other restrictions imposed by Israel and the Gaza authorities due to the coronavirus pandemic. All this has taken a heavy toll, leaving patients in a state of severe anxiety, with many unable to access critical, sometimes life-saving, treatments. Photo by Ashraf Amra
M.Y | DOP –

It was reported by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on Wednesday that about 350 kids in the besieged Gaza Strip who have cancer are encountering challenges with their treatment because of the Israeli blockade.

PCHR noted in a statement to commemorate Childhood Cancer Day that the journey of children with cancer in Gaza is a challenging and lengthy one, owing to the Israeli occupation‘s policies.

A warning was issued that 9,000 cancer patients in Gaza including 350 kids are facing “catastrophic conditions as a result of the persistent shortage of drugs and treatment protocols.

In the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to an unlawful siege for nearly 16 years, food insecurity, contaminated drinking water, limited medical care, and high joblessness are all commonplace.

PCHR noted that Israel still places limits on the availability of new medical equipment and laboratory tools necessary for examining cancer patients, on top of the lack of specialized medical personnel.

The human rights group reported that, of the 1,000 permit requests from Gaza residents to travel out for medical treatment in the prior year, Israel denied 272 of them, leading to the deaths of three children.

The group appealed to the international community to urge Israeli occupation to remove impediments that obstruct cancer patients from obtaining treatment essential to their survival.

It also requested assistance from global health organizations to help improve Gaza‘s struggling healthcare system.

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