Al Shifa Hospital Archives - CrossFireArarbia

‘We Are Dying’: Cancer Patients Plead For Treatment

CrossFireArabia
February 8, 2026

As World Cancer Day is marked on Wednesday, thousands of patients in Gaza face worsening illness, untreated pain and closed crossings – despite the limited opening of the vital route through Rafah this week.

“We are dying. Every day, between two and three patients die inside this hospital,” says Munther Abu Foul, a cancer patient lying on his bed in Gaza’s largest hospital. “I can’t get out of bed because of the pain. We want a solution – open the crossings.”

His words capture the reality facing thousands of cancer patients across the Strip, where access to specialist care has collapsed and evacuation for treatment abroad remains out of reach for many.

Local health organisations warn that around 11,000 patients are currently deprived of specialised or diagnostic cancer treatment inside Gaza.

Some 4,000 patients who received medical referrals to hospitals outside the Strip have been waiting for more than two years to travel.

UN News visited Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, documenting the dire conditions inside its oncology department. Patients crowd corridors and wards, waiting for consultations or treatments that are no longer available.

Essential medicines and equipment are in short supply, while many patients endure chronic pain that leaves them barely able to move.

Raed Abu Warda, a man in a green jacket, comforts his brother Hamid Abu Warda, a cancer patient, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

UN News

A man takes care of his brother, a cancer patient at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

‘Every day, two or three patients die’

Mr. Abu Foul flips through his medical transfer papers, issued long ago for treatment outside Gaza. He has not been able to travel for more than two years.

“The health situation in the Gaza Strip is dilapidated,” he says. “There is no treatment or medicines, and we are dying. Every day, two to three patients die here inside this hospital. I can’t get out of bed because of the pain.”

He appeals directly for help. “We want a solution. Open the crossings properly so that God will release us from this suffering. Everyone will be held accountable.”

Nearby, Mohamed Hammou tends to his elderly mother, who is also battling cancer. He says families are forced to watch loved ones deteriorate without care.

We want a solution. Open the crossings properly so that God will release us from this suffering – Abu Foul

“This is how we stand in front of a patient who is dying, without treatment or any medical facilities that help them recover,” he says. “This does not please God and it does not satisfy people. We call on Islamic, Arab and international nations to look at the sick with mercy.”

A brother in pain

In another ward, Raed Abu Warda cares for his brother Hamid, whose cancer has worsened after long delays in treatment. What began as a small, benign illness has become a life-threatening condition.

“He has been suffering from cancer for two years,” Raed explains. “He waited all this time for the crossing to open so he could be treated outside. His pain has increased, as you can see.”

He gestures towards a wound that has opened beneath his brother’s chin. “The disease has created this wound, and his condition is getting worse every day. I stand watching my brother and mourning his condition because of the pain.”

Mundhir Abu Foul, a cancer patient in Gaza, sits on a hospital bed with his hands open, appearing to speak or gesture.

UN News

The health situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating for those suffering from life-threatening cancers, despite the limited opening of the Rafah crossing.

The number of patients seeking care at Gaza’s oncology departments continues to rise, even as hospitals face severe shortages of medicines, equipment and specialised staff. For newly diagnosed patients, the future is increasingly uncertain.

Evacuations far short of needs

With the limited reopening of the Rafah crossing, the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the evacuation of patients and their companions from Gaza, focusing on ensuring safe transport. Yet the scale of need far outstrips what is currently possible.

All we ask for is a way to live

More than 18,000 patients – including around 4,000 children – are waiting to be evacuated abroad for medical treatment, according to WHO.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported last week that Gaza’s Ministry of Health had recorded more than 1,200 patient deaths while people were waiting for medical evacuation. Around 4,000 cancer patients remain on critical waiting lists, trapped between closed crossings and a health system pushed beyond its limits.

For patients like Munther Abu Foul, time is running out. “We are dying,” he repeats. “All we ask for is a way to live.” – UN News

News

Israel Kills 31 Palestinians in One Day

CrossFireArabia
February 1, 2026

Israeli forces killed at least 31 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday as airstrikes and shelling continued across the besieged enclave, despite a Trump-brokered ceasefire.

The Ministry of Health said dozens of civilians were killed or wounded in new attacks by the Israeli army, while Hamas stated that Israel is deliberately undermining the ceasefire agreement and committing fresh massacres across the strip.

Hospital sources said Israeli fire killed 31 Palestinians outside Israeli deployment zones in Gaza City and Khan Younis, in central and southern Gaza, since dawn on Saturday. At least 24 of the victims were reported in Gaza City and northern areas of the enclave.

Al-Shifa Hospital said the death toll rose after Israel attacked a police headquarters in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City. Emergency and ambulance services also confirmed that two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on Al-Nasr neighborhood in western Gaza City.

Field reports showed that Israeli attacks focused on residential neighborhoods and areas sheltering displaced families. These areas included Al-Tuffah and Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City, as well as displacement camps and tents in Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis.

The latest strikes triggered large fires in displacement tents at “Ghaith” camp west of Khan Younis, according to Gaza Civil Defense. Rescue teams said the fires added a heavy burden as they responded to bombardment and widespread blazes at the same time.

Gaza’s Interior Ministry said the Israeli attack on Sheikh Radwan police headquarters showed clear disregard for the ceasefire and the international mediators backing it. The ministry said the strike killed five police officers and injured 15 others, in addition to civilians and displaced people who were near the site.

The ministry urged mediators to take responsibility and pressure Israel to stop its violations and spare civilians and civilian facilities from continued attacks.

Earlier on Saturday, hospital sources said Israeli fire killed 12 Palestinians, including six children, in Gaza City and Khan Younis.

In southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike on “Ghaith” displacement camp in Al-Mawasi killed seven members of one family after their tent was hit in a densely populated area for displaced civilians. The Civil Defense said several others were wounded in separate strikes that targeted tents sheltering displaced families.

Israeli artillery shelling in areas inside Israeli troop deployment zones in Al-Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City. Ambulance services also said Israeli strikes hit a residential apartment in Gaza City, killing and injuring several Palestinians.

Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said most of Saturday’s victims were children. He said Israeli strikes do not distinguish between civilians and fighters and described the situation as a systematic humanitarian catastrophe. He added that Israeli forces used high-explosive missiles, causing widespread destruction and fires.

Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson Raed Al-Nims said ambulance crews face unprecedented challenges as Israeli attacks continue to hit homes and displacement camps, while most medical facilities remain damaged. He called on the international community to pressure Israel to halt its violations and allow medical teams to work without obstruction according to the Quds News Network.

Israeli Claims and Palestinian Response

The Israeli newspaper Maariv quoted the Israeli army as claiming that its air assaults in Gaza would continue, claiming it responds to alleged “serious incidents” that allegedly violated the ceasefire. The army claimed that it targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders, weapons depots, and military infrastructure.

Hamas rejected the Israeli claims and said the continued targeting of displaced people’s tents marks a dangerous escalation and a deliberate collapse of the ceasefire. The resistance movement described the attacks as a new massacre and a blatant violation of the agreement.

Hamas said Israeli actions confirm the continuation of a war of destruction against Gaza and a disregard for mediation efforts. It called on guarantor states and the US administration to intervene and stop policies that undermine the ceasefire.

The movement also demanded an immediate transition to the second phase of the agreement, including opening the Rafah crossing in both directions and enabling the national committee to operate freely in Gaza.

Since the ceasefire took effect in October, Israeli forces have killed 524 Palestinians and wounded 1,360 others.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said continued Israeli bombardment places extreme pressure on Gaza’s collapsed health system. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry also condemned repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire, warning they pose a direct threat to the political process.

News

A Child Killed Everyday in Ceasefire Gaza

CrossFireArabia
January 13, 2026

Airstrikes, drone attacks and hypothermia continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 youngsters killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

“That’s roughly a girl or a boy killed here every day during a ceasefire,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.

“These children are killed from airstrikes, drone strikes, including suicide drones,” he said, speaking from Gaza City. “They’re killed from tank shelling, they’re killed from live ammunition, they’re killed from [remote-controlled] quadcopters.”

Mr. Elder pointed out that more children have also died of hypothermia in the last few days, as harsh winter conditions expose the most vulnerable Gazans.

Sheer cold kills six children

“We’ve now gone to six children who died of hypothermia just this winter,” he said. “I wish I could take a camera and show you 30, 40-kilometre [per hour] winds ripping through tents on the beach. It’s bitterly cold, it’s bitterly wet.”

The UNICEF spokesperson stressed that the ceasefire has allowed “genuine progress” in primary healthcare, with UNICEF and partners setting up the first health clinics in the north of the Strip and expanding immunization services.

But desperately needed medical evacuations of children remain at a standstill.

Mr. Elder noted “no noticeable improvement” both on approvals to get children with life-threatening injuries out of Gaza and in convincing more host countries take in the young patients.

He said that in his latest mission to the enclave, he spoke to many children and families denied evacuation despite completing an arduous, formal process.

These included a nine-year-old with shrapnel lodged in his eye who “will lose sight in an eye, maybe both”, a girl in Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City who “may well die” and another child whose leg needs amputating. “All three of those are absolute candidates for medical evacuation; all three of those have so far been denied,” Mr. Elder explained.

Before war erupted in Gaza following Hamas-led attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023, between 50 and 100 patients were evacuated from the enclave every day, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

In an alert on Tuesday, the agency warned that extensive clearance procedures by the Israeli authorities continue to cause delays to deliveries of medicine and food.

“Some essential medical items are classified as ‘dual-use’ and denied entry,” WHO said in a post on X, in reference to goods that are primarily intended for civilian use but which the Israeli authorities believe could be diverted by Hamas or other militant groups for military purposes.

International NGO ban looms

The UNICEF spokesperson also highlighted the dangers of a recent Israeli ban on international NGOs, which will come into effect in the coming month and mean “blocking life-saving assistance”, he alleged. Mr. Elder also stressed the importance of allowing international media into the enclave, which has not been granted despite the ceasefire.

“There needs to be a lot more pressure on allowing international journalists to come in,” he said. “This is my seventh mission [to Gaza] and every time I see the 360-degree devastation, flattening of homes, my jaw drops.”

“It is absolutely as staggering yesterday as it was the first time I saw it more than two years ago,” he insisted.

Mr. Elder warned that two years of war have “left life for Gaza’s children unimaginably hard,” explaining that “the psychological damage remains untreated, and it’s becoming deeper and harder to heal, the longer this goes on”.

“A ceasefire that slows the bombs is progress, but one that still buries children is not enough,” he concluded as reported in UN News.

Uncategorized

Ugly War: Amputating The Palestinians?

CrossFireArabia
August 25, 2025

One of the many ugly consequences of wars and conflict is injuries leading to a loss of limbs. Gaza, which now has the highest number of child amputees per capital anywhere in the world, is no exception.

“I was going to buy falafel,” says Mohammed Hassan. “On the way home, I looked up and saw a rocket heading towards me. I tried to run, but it was too fast. I found myself pinned to the wall, and my foot had been blown off.”

Brought to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the young boy looks down at his heavily bandaged left leg, and the stump where his foot used to be.

In another area of the hospital, a small child, Maryam Abu Alba, is crying in pain. “The neighbour’s house was bombed, and their home was hit,” says her grandmother. “One of her legs had to be amputated, and metal plates had to be inserted into the other one, which was fractured. She is in severe pain.”

Earlier this year, the UN humanitarian aid coordination agency OCHA estimated that 4,500 new amputees require prosthetics, in addition to the 2,000 existing cases requiring maintenance and follow-up care, while about 24,000 injured people required rehabilitation.

Health facilities are overwhelmed with many patients undergoing multiple surgeries without adequate medical supplies, including anaesthesia.

UN News

Palestinian child Mohammad Hassan sitting on a hospital bed in Gaza after his left leg was amputated by a strike.

Desperately seeking food

In May, as supply routes for UN humanitarian convoys were interrupted, the number of distribution points of aid dropped from 400 dotted across the Gaza strip to a handful of hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Given the shortage of humanitarian aid and diminished capacity, thousands of Palestinians have been killed or injured since May while seeking food. Among the wounded are children and parents who, despite losing limbs, continue to search for food and water.

This comes as a UN-backed food security report has just concluded that famine is confirmed in Gaza governorate, where half a million people are trapped in conditions of starvation, malnutrition and death.

Ibrahim Abdel Nabi was one of the many Palestinians who headed to the hubs in the hope of finding desperately needed provisions for their families.

In his tent at a displacement site in the coastal Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, Mr. Nabi, surrounded by his wife and children, explains how the journey ended in disaster and life-changing injuries.

“When I arrived at the Al-Alam area, west of Rafah, I was hit by an explosive bullet in my leg. I was bleeding for about an hour and a half, and no one came to help me. They were all trying to find food for their children.”

Eventually, a group of people came to his rescue and took him to the nearby Red Cross hospital.

“I stayed there for about a month and a half, undergoing about 12 operations. I became malnourished and lost a lot of blood. Infection spread, and more of my leg had to be amputated.”

Ibrahim Abdel Nabi, a Palestinian displaced in Gaza, sitting on a chair while his wife helps him wear the handmade prosthetic limb.

‘I made my prosthetic leg’

As Mr. Nabi was trying to recover, he was aware that his family were still in need of food. Despite the pain, he decided to make a simple prosthesis from materials he could find to allow him to get back on his feet and make fresh attempts to find food and water.

“The prosthesis injures my leg,” he said. “It causes inflammation and increases the pain. We don’t have medical care or supplies, but I will use it no matter how much it hurts.”

As he speaks, Mr. Nabi’s wife begins to cry. “God willing, we will live through this experience,” she says.

Mr. Nabi gets up on crutches and heads to a nearby tent, where his wife helps him to put on the crude prosthesis.

“Don’t strain yourself,” she repeats, over and over. “Take your time. Walk slowly.”

UN News

News

Silencing Messengers: Israel Kills Five Journalists

CrossFireArabia
August 11, 2025

Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qraiqea were killed Sunday, along with three other Al Jazeera journalists, in an Israeli strike targeting a journalists’ tent near the Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, according to the Gaza Media Office.

The Qatar-based channel quoted the director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza who said, “Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qraiqea were martyred in an Israeli strike on their tent,” without providing details.

The channel later confirmed that al-Sharif and Qraiqea were killed in an Israeli strike.

Al Jazeera Media Network early Monday condemned the “planned” assassination of its correspondents and cameramen in the Gaza Strip, calling it “a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza.”

“The order to kill Anas al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s bravest journalists, and his colleagues is a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza,” it said.

Al Jazeera’s statement noted that “many Israeli army officials repeatedly incited and called for targeting Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues,” as it held “the occupation army and its government responsible for targeting and assassinating its team.”

The statement added that “the assassination of our correspondents by the Israeli occupation forces is another blatant and deliberate attack on press freedom.”

The Gaza Media Office announced in a statement that the number of journalists killed since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 237, following the killing of al-Sharif and Qraiqea, along with three other journalists.

It identified the other journalists killed as photojournalists Ibrahim Dahir and Moumin Alaywa and an assistant photojournalist Mohammed Noufal.

“The assassination was carried out with premeditation and deliberation, through a deliberate, intentional, and direct targeting of the journalists’ tent in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. This heinous crime also resulted in the injury of several other fellow journalists,” it added

The Director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, told Anadolu that the deaths from the strike on the tent in front of the complex’s gate have risen to seven, including five journalists.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army admitted in a statement to killing al-Sharif in Gaza City, while ignoring the killing of Qraiqea and the three other journalists in the same strike.

In his will that was written Aug. 6, which he requested be published after his death, al-Sharif wrote: “This is my will, and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.”

“Allah knows that I gave all the effort and strength I had to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that God would prolong my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original hometown of occupied Asqalan (al-Majdal), but God’s will came first, and His decree is carried out,” he said.

“I have lived pain in all its forms, and tasted grief and loss many times. Yet I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification, hoping that Allah would bear witness against those who remained silent, those who accepted our killing, those who suffocated our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered bodies of our children and women, and who did not stop the massacre our people have been subjected to for more than a year and a half.

“I urge you to hold fast to Palestine, the jewel in the crown of Muslims, and the heartbeat of every free person in this world.

“I urge you to care for its people, for its wronged little children who were not given enough time in life to dream or to live in safety and peace, whose pure bodies were crushed beneath thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.

“I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders hold you back. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our usurped homeland.

“I urge you to care for my family. Take care of the apple of my eye, my beloved daughter Sham, whom the days did not allow me to watch grow up as I had dreamed as reported by Anadolu.

“And care for my dear son Salah, whom I had hoped to support and walk beside until he grew strong enough to carry my burdens and continue the mission.

“I urge you to care for my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers carried me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah will comfort her heart and reward her abundantly on my behalf.

“Also take care for my life partner, my beloved wife, Umm Salah, Bayan, from whom the war separated me for long days and months, yet she remained true to our bond, steadfast like the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend, patient and trusting in Allah, carrying the responsibility in my absence with all strength and faith.

“I urge you to stand by them and be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, then I die steadfast in my principles, and I bear witness before Allah that I am content with His decree, faithful in meeting Him, and certain that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

“O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive me my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me to receive mercy, for I have remained true to the covenant, never changing or wavering.

“Do not forget Gaza … And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance,” he wrote..

Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed more than 61,000 victims since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.