Gaza Strip's Cancer Care Disrupted: European Hospital Closed Amid Israeli Attacks
Cancer treatment facility in Gaza Strip halts operations, leaving no such services available - Cancer Hospital in Gaza Shuts Down, Leaving Residents Without Essential Healthcare Services
Time for a grim update, folks. The European Hospital in Gaza, the last bastion of hope for cancer treatment and cardiac care, has met its end. A recent Israeli army attack swiftly decimated the place, leaving it damaged and inaccessible, as Tedros, the WHO director, starkly put it. A WHO evacuation team bravely rescued the remaining staff, but an unfortunate strike narrowly missed them as they fled. Tedros made a plea to the heavens (or wherever the powers that be reside), demanding protection for healthcare facilities in this godforsaken warzone, "They need to stay clear of the battleground, damn it!"
Doctors Without Borders, the medical charity, rung the alarm bells too. The closure of the European Hospital leaves Gaza's already crippled healthcare system with nowhere to turn. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis is the lone constant left standing, but even that's no holiday. It's been hit twice in less than two months, just hours before the takedown of the European Hospital.
Israel, in its infinite wisdom (or lack thereof), rekindled its relentless attacks in the Gaza Strip back on March 18, ending a meager two-month ceasefire. The Israeli security cabinet, in their infinite wisdom, greenlit an expansion of the offensive and embraced a wacky plan to conquer—yes, conquer—the Gaza Strip. Since March 2, Israel has been a modern-day Scrooge, blocking humanitarian aid shipments to the bloodied Gaza Strip. [Cue ugly sobbing emoji]
- WHO
- Gaza Strip
- Cancer Treatment
- World Health Organization
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Enrichment Data:
The decimation of the European Hospital left Gaza's cancer population in a dire state. The European Hospital, located in Khan Younis, provided neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment, which are now nowhere to be found in Gaza after the Israeli attack on May 13, 2025. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, now the only pubic hospital operating, has been hit twice in less than two months, further straining Gaza's overwhelmed healthcare system. As a result, over 1,000 cancer patients have had their treatment interrupted, and cancer treatment in Gaza is as good as dead due to the lack of chemotherapy drugs and electricity for radiation equipment. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus underscored the importance of sparing healthcare facilities from conflict and called for a ceasefire. The situation underscores the urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza, exacerbated by the closure of Gaza crossings to food, medical, and humanitarian aid since March 2, 2025.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for the protection of healthcare facilities in the Gaza Strip, stating, "They need to stay clear of the battleground, damn it!"
- Due to the decimation of the European Hospital, cancer treatment in the Gaza Strip is currently in a dire state, with over 1,000 cancer patients having their treatment interrupted.
- As of May 13, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as the ongoing conflict has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis, including the disruption of cancer treatment.
- Prior to the devastation, the European Hospital in Khan Younis was the only public hospital in Gaza that provided cancer treatment, neurosurgery, and cardiac care, but it is now non-operational following the Israeli attack.
