Gaza’s cancer patients are dying at roughly two to three times the pace recorded before the war, according to doctors working in the territory. The reported increase is linked to the destruction of specialist medical infrastructure, severe shortages of chemotherapy and diagnostic supplies, and restrictions preventing many patients from leaving Gaza for treatment.
The numbers are cited in an article from Reuters dated August 13, 2026, quoting Palestinian doctors. While they do not arise out of a comprehensive audit of the number of cancer deaths, which is increasingly becoming difficult to compile in light of the deteriorating condition of Gaza’s healthcare system, they still present a clear indication of what happens when there is disruption of care for long periods of time. Prior to the onset of the war, doctors believed that one to two people were dying of cancer per day in Gaza. Statistics from before the outbreak put the average at about 1.7 per day.
During the war period, doctors say the numbers have risen to three to five per day. This is a two- to three-fold increase in numbers. Even more important, it is an indication of what happens when the normal course of cancer development is accompanied by the lack of treatment.
“We have been recording a significant number of deaths, ranging from three to five daily, because patients are not receiving the chemotherapy needed to save their lives,”
said Mohamed Abu Selmia, head of Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility.
The destruction of Gaza’s cancer hospital
The center of this situation is the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, Gaza’s only specialized cancer hospital. It had been built thanks to Turkish funding and was providing specialized services of oncology, chemotherapy included, prior to the war destroying much of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure. The hospital ceased operation in November 2023 after being damaged and deprived of necessary resources, including fuel. Then, in March 2025, Israeli troops destroyed the building. According to Israeli officials, the troops had discovered a tunnel being used by Hamas militants either inside or close to the hospital. Thus, the destruction deprived the territory of its main specialized oncological facility in a time when there was an increasing demand for such treatment. A Lancet Oncology analysis states that while Israel claims that the hospital had been used by Hamas activists, no evidence of this claim was publicly presented. This is an important detail. Destruction of the facility is a matter of fact. What is under discussion is the legitimacy of the military use allegation and thus the justification for the destruction.
Hospitals enjoy special protection during armed conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross says medical establishments must not be attacked and may lose their protected status only when used for acts harmful to an opposing force, subject to strict legal conditions. Even where a military-use allegation is made, the legality of an attack depends on evidence, warnings, proportionality, precautions and the military necessity of the operation.
For Gaza’s patients, the consequence was immediate and practical: the loss of a specialist institution that could not easily be replaced elsewhere in the Strip.
Thousands left without treatment
Gaza doctors estimate that about 17,000 cancer patients now lack a local option for chemotherapy or other advanced treatment. The estimate combines approximately 11,000 registered cancer patients recorded before the war with a further 6,000 people whom doctors believe may have developed cancer since October 2023.
Cancer registration largely stopped after the war began, making the current figure uncertain. The number should therefore be read as an estimate rather than a verified census. Yet the absence of reliable registration is itself evidence of the breakdown in diagnosis and medical administration.
“Some people can be treated if diagnosed in early stages, but they are wandering around the tents sick, unaware, and with no help,”
said Sobhi Skaik, a Palestinian surgeon who previously headed the Turkish–Palestinian Friendship Hospital.
This is an illustration of two levels of failure. Firstly, patients fail to get a diagnosis on time. Secondly, patients who have gotten the diagnosis fail to gain access to treatment on a consistent basis. Failure at both these levels is dangerous because at an early stage some cancers can actually be cured, but if the disease is not treated, it can migrate to other parts of the body. According to Reuters, the doctors informed them that the hospitals that were functioning in Gaza lacked up to 70% of necessary supplies of medical items. These shortages involve medicines that are used for cancer treatment and diagnostic equipment. However, the problem does not stop there, as treatment of cancer involves more than just chemotherapy.
The evacuation barrier
With specialist care unavailable inside Gaza, patients must seek treatment abroad, generally through Egypt or medical institutions in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem or other countries. But leaving requires multiple approvals, coordination with a receiving facility and security clearance.
Palestinian health officials said approximately 20,000 patients, including about 5,000 cancer patients, were registered for treatment abroad but had not yet been evacuated. The broader figure includes people with severe injuries, chronic illness and other conditions requiring treatment unavailable in Gaza.
United Nations reporting gave a separate estimate, stating that more than 18,500 Gaza patients still urgently needed specialized medical care outside the territory, including approximately 4,000 children. The different figures reflect different dates, definitions and registration systems rather than necessarily a direct contradiction. The evacuation process is also affected by the limited operation of border crossings. Palestinian officials said that roughly 11,000 people had crossed through Rafah in total, while arguing that this was fewer than half the number expected under the ceasefire arrangement. Israel has imposed what Palestinian officials describe as strict daily limits on crossings to Egypt.
Why delays are deadly
The treatment of cancer cannot exist without time. Chemotherapy regimes are timed to specific intervals while surgery and radiation therapy are best administered before a tumor metastasizes. Failing one session might prove deleterious; failing months of treatment will dramatically alter a prognosis. In Gaza, such failures occur at all levels. A patient may fail to access a hospital that is operational, fail to get a biopsy, fail to access chemotherapy, fail to get a referral, fail to receive an approval from the receiving country, or fail to travel to that country after being approved.
The conflict has also uprooted most of Gaza’s citizens. Many patients may find themselves residing in tents, without adequate shelter, proper sanitation facilities, access to refrigeration or transportation facilities. Such conditions will make it difficult to manage adverse reactions, reduce infections or keep on a regimen. The humanitarian situation has added to the health problem. Poor nutrition may already compromise some patients’ physical state prior to the start of treatment, while infectious diseases or injuries can make chemotherapy impossible. Fuel shortages can affect hospitals, laboratory equipment, ambulances and medicine storage facilities.
A United Nations report has described Gaza’s wider health system as severely deteriorated, with more than 18,500 patients needing evacuation. Earlier reporting also recorded cancer patients among those waiting for treatment outside the territory.
A disputed claim about toxic exposure
Skaik said the increase in cancer deaths was caused mainly by the absence of local treatment and border restrictions. He also suggested that cancer could be spreading faster because of toxic material from Israeli explosives used in Gaza.
The first explanation is consistent with the documented disruption of chemotherapy, surgery, diagnosis and evacuation. The second remains an allegation requiring scientific investigation. The Reuters report did not establish that explosive residues caused new cancers or accelerated existing disease.
A responsible assessment must therefore distinguish between known and unproven claims. It is well supported that patients are missing treatment and that medical facilities have been destroyed or damaged. It is not yet established that exposure to specific toxic substances is responsible for the reported increase in cancer incidence or mortality.
That distinction does not reduce the seriousness of the crisis. Treatment interruption alone can explain a substantial rise in avoidable cancer deaths.
The human cost behind the statistics
A patient highlighted in the report is that of Khuloud Abu Sahmoud, a 33-year-old woman and a mother of two suffering from advanced ovarian cancer. She had been waiting for an opportunity to exit Gaza to receive medical treatment and allegedly suffered from the progression of her condition to affect her lungs and bones during the waiting period. This serves to demonstrate why the statistics of evacuation are not always accurate without considering the waiting period of the patients. The government will cite thousands of individuals having exited a certain border while the doctors look at the even higher number of patients left inside, especially those whose condition worsens with each passing day. For a cancer patient, the permission granted after the development of the condition might not constitute timely medical care anymore.
What the evidence establishes
The available evidence supports several conclusions.
Gaza’s only dedicated cancer hospital was demolished in 2025 after Israel alleged that Hamas had used the site for military purposes.
According to doctors working in Gaza, the number of cancer-related deaths per day has increased from about one to two before the war to three to five during the war. This is the basis of the assertion that patients are dying at rates between two to three times more than before the war, but the figure does not come from an independently functional mortality registry. It is believed that 17,000 patients do not have regular access to chemotherapy and cancer treatments in their regions. There are huge shortages in hospitals and doctors have asserted that as much as 70% of medical supplies are not available. The Israeli side claims that it helps in the medical evacuation of patients according to the demands of the country of destination and security clearances. Palestinian doctors and health authorities claim that these procedures, along with daily limits and closures of borders prevent many patients from getting timely treatment. The key finding here is not just the fact that the cancer death rate may have tripled in Gaza. It is rather the fact that cancer patients are dying in a situation where diagnosis, treatment, referral and evacuation have been hampered all together.