The Gaza Strip’s only oncology hospital has closed due to lack of power, health officials announced on Wednesday.
The director of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship institution told a press conference broadcast by Al-Jazeera TV that the institution, which primarily treats cancer patients, had run out of fuel and was no longer operational, Reuters reported.
“We tell the world not to leave cancer patients to die because the hospital is out of service,” the Director, Subhi Skaik, said.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila verified the director’s words in a statement, adding that this raises the total number of hospitals that are currently closed in the Strip to 16 out of 35.
“The lives of 70 cancer patients inside the hospital are seriously threatened,” she said in a statement.
“The number of cancer patients in the Gaza Strip is about 2,000 living in catastrophic health conditions as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip and the displacement of a large number,” al-Kaila added.
On Tuesday, the death toll in Gaza reached 38,796 Palestinians, including 3,648 children, according to local health ministry records.