Blockade and war trap Gaza’s cancer patients in a fight for life

War and the blockade have left thousands of Gaza cancer patients unable to flee for urgent care, with evacuation routes hampered by the Rafah crossing closure and scarce medicines; cancer deaths have surged as basic diagnostics and chemotherapy vanish, and Gaza’s only specialized cancer hospital was destroyed in 2025, forcing treatment into makeshift clinics and prolonging suffering, even as a handful win court-backed exemptions to travel for care. About 11,000 Gaza cancer patients need treatment outside the territory, and roughly 900 have died waiting for evacuation, according to the WHO and aid groups.