Cancer patients in Gaza are dying from medicine shortages and travel ban

Chemotherapy drugs at Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza have run out, leaving cancer patients without treatment. Doctors report that deaths are increasing as patients cannot travel abroad and alternative treatments have also been exhausted.

Scraper SystemJuly 25, 2026, 10:48 PM

Cancer patients in Gaza are dying from medicine shortages and travel ban

In Gaza, cancer patients are not only battling their disease but also the despair of not finding medicine and being unable to access treatment. The depletion of chemotherapy drugs in the oncology department of Nasser Medical Complex directly threatens the lives of thousands of patients.

A female patient receiving treatment in the department said that chemotherapy drugs were only partially available and that other necessary medications had completely disappeared. She noted that the current treatment was causing painful changes to her skin, face, and body, and that doctors were unable to find an alternative drug. "Stopping treatment means death for me," she said, adding, "there is no cure for cancer other than chemotherapy."

Another patient reported that after undergoing a bone marrow transplant, she had not been able to receive her biological treatment for about ten months. She said her health condition was worsening day by day, and that even painkillers to ease her pain were no longer available. "I die a hundred times a day from pain," she said, adding that although she was supposed to leave for treatment abroad four months ago, she was still waiting, and that due to food and clean water shortages, she was forced to use water she knew was harmful to her health.

An oncologist working at Nasser Medical Complex stressed that the situation is worsening day by day. He noted that before the war, Gaza had access to less than 20 percent of the globally available cancer drugs, and now even that limited share has been further reduced by the depletion of basic chemotherapy medications. "Neither are medicines entering the region nor can patients quickly travel abroad," the doctor said, reporting that deaths occur frequently in the department, and that a young man died the previous night because he could not travel and no treatment was available for him.

The doctor said that in recent months they had been administering "supportive treatment" to keep patients alive until travel, but these limited options were also beginning to run out and they now had no treatment alternatives left. He noted that immune, targeted, and hormonal therapies, which form the basis of cancer treatment worldwide, are unavailable in Gaza, forcing doctors to resort to less effective methods, even ones that advanced centers no longer use.

The doctor pointed out that war, malnutrition, and displacement have led to late diagnosis of many cancer cases, and that basic diagnostic devices such as MRI and PET scanners are unavailable, while endoscopy capabilities are limited. As a result, the disease can only be detected at an advanced stage, and some patients even die without ever learning they had cancer.

A nurse working in the oncology department said that about 100 patients come to the department each day for check-ups or treatment. She noted that the shortage is not limited to medicines; even basic supplies such as test tubes for blood tests are running low, making patient care more difficult.

A patient's relative said that after chemotherapy drugs ran out, doctors had to perform surgery, after which the patient needed to receive radiotherapy abroad within a certain timeframe, but they have not been able to get a travel permit for months. She said that although they were frequently told "you will travel soon," there has still been no progress.

Cancer patients in Gaza are dying from medicine shortages and travel ban