Last Hospital Treating Cancer Patients In Gaza Goes Out Of Service

Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday that the last hospital in Gaza providing care for heart disease and cancer patients ceased operations following an Israeli strike.

In a post on X, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that Tuesday's attack inflicted "severe damage” on the European Hospital in Khan Younis, rendering it inaccessible. He said that it is now out of service, and a WHO team had to urgently evacuate medical personnel during the assault.

Tedros emphasized that the hospital's closure halted critical services including neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment - services that are not available elsewhere in Gaza.

He stressed that the shutdown also ends the hospital's function as a key hub for medical evacuations, further straining an already overwhelmed healthcare system. He also underscored that hospitals must be protected.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) also warned of the consequences, stating in a post on X that the hospital had been one of the last lifelines of Gaza's shattered health system. It noted that Nasser Hospital is now the only remaining functioning medical facility in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

Nasser Hospital itself came under attack just hours before the European Gaza Hospital, marking the second time in less than two months that it has been targeted.

The organization added that most of Gaza's remaining hospitals are only partially operational and constantly operating beyond capacity.

It concluded that the repeated strikes on healthcare facilities are further evidence of how Israeli authorities are rendering the Gaza Strip uninhabitable.

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