The Director General of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza, Sobhi Skaik, said on Thursday that 4 cancer patients lost their lives as a result of the hospital being completely out of service.
The Turkish Friendship Hospital is the only one designated for treating cancer patients in Gaza, and it is located at a point close to the area into which Israeli forces entered on Monday morning before retreating to areas close to the eastern border of the Strip.
The Turkish government funded the construction of the hospital (2011-2017), which is one of the largest hospitals in Palestine with an area of 34,800 square meters, consisting of 3 floors and containing 180 beds.
Skaik said in statements, “Four cancer patients lost their lives today as a result of the Turkish Friendship Hospital stopping and being completely out of service due to the crisis of running out of fuel.”
He added, “The deaths occurred due to the lack of necessary medical capabilities.”
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He explained that “all patients (from Turkish Friendship) were transferred to Dar Al Salam Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.”
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization announced the cessation of work at the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, which specializes in treating cancer patients in the Gaza Strip.
This came in a post by the organization’s Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on the “X” platform, in which he called for “urgent support to save lives.”
Ghebreyesus stated that the hospital is currently out of service due to a lack of fuel and air strikes in its vicinity.
Earlier Thursday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that stopping services at the main cancer hospital in the Gaza Strip due to running out of fuel would put the lives of 70 patients at risk.
