Gaza’s Only Cancer Hospital Could Shut Down Amid ‘Israeli’ War, Siege

By Al-Jazeera

As hundreds of patients and sheltering civilians were killed at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital on Tuesday in the single worst tragedy since the war began, Dr. Subhi Sukeyk was witnessing another, quieter catastrophe affecting his own patients at Gaza’s only oncology hospital.

Two days after the war began on October 7, ‘Israel’ imposed a “total blockade” on the Gaza Strip, preventing any fuel, water and other supplies from entering the territory.

Dr. Sukeyk, the director of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, warned that the facility has been running perilously low on the fuel needed to keep its essential services running, as well as the medicines needed for chemotherapy treatment.

“We are trying to keep the essential services,” Dr. Sukeyk told Al Jazeera, adding that some services such as radiology, used for monitoring and diagnosis, have already been stopped.

Gaza gets part of its electricity from ‘Israeli’ power lines, whose supply has been cut. The rest is generated by a power plant that relies on imported fuel in order to operate. That plant was shut down over a week ago amid the complete siege by ‘Israel’ that came into effect after Hamas carried out a surprise operation in the occupied territories on October 7. An almost nonstop bombing campaign by ‘Israel’ since then has left more than 3,300 people martyred in the Gaza Strip, a third of those children.

But the imminent shutdown of the enclave’s only cancer hospital underscores how it’s not just direct shrapnel and fire from missiles that are pulverizing Gaza. The strip has more than 9,000 cancer patients, Gaza’s health ministry said earlier this year.

The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital has been operating thanks to a single local generator, also powered by fuel – which may soon run out. That will force the hospital to shut down even the basic services it has been able to provide, which would endanger the lives of hundreds of patients who need timely and regular treatment to battle cancer.

“The intensive care unit needs a lot of electricity to operate,” Dr. Sukeyk said, “and so do the oxygen machines.”

“Some patients’ chemotherapy had to be delayed. But they are due, they must have this treatment to prevent the tumor from spreading to their bodies, organs.”

As a result of the war, some patients have missed out on their appointments as it became risky and difficult to get to the hospital.

Every month, Palestinian health authorities refer 2,000 patients from Gaza to hospitals outside the Strip – mostly in occupied al-Quds, West Bank and other ‘Israeli’-occupied territories. While the ‘Israeli; blockade in place since 2007 makes it difficult for the people of Gaza to get the medical permits they need to leave the Strip, the total siege since October 7 means this has now come to a complete halt.

Hospitals in Gaza have been on the verge of collapse, overwhelmed by the needs of injured patients – more than 13,000, higher than in any of the previous wars on Gaza – as well as by a lack of electricity, water and medicines. The ‘Israeli’ army has also ordered some hospitals to evacuate, which staff and management have described as an impossible ask.

At the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, time is running out – to fight cancer, and keep hope alive.