Damaged European Hospital in Gaza Halts Critical Cancer Treatments
Cancer Center in Gaza Forced to Shut Down Following Attacks
In a heartbreaking turn of events, the European Hospital in Gaza, a crucial facility providing heart and cancer treatments, has shut down following devastating damage from recent Israeli attacks. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Gaza's Ministry of Health, the hospital in Khan Yunis suffered a destructive strike on May 13, 2025, rendering it severely damaged and unusable.
This unfortunate event halted vital specialized services such as neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment—services that were not available elsewhere in Gaza. The incident also affected sewage lines, inside departments, and access roads, making it hazardous for medical professionals and patients to operate further. The hospital housed vital resources such as 28 intensive care beds, 12 incubators, over 200 general hospital beds, 25 emergency beds, and 60 oncology beds, all now out of service.
The hospital's closure has significant implications for Gaza's already strained healthcare system. With the Turkish Friendship Hospital's destruction, this facility was the only place offering medical follow-up for cancer patients, leaving them without treatment options and worsening their health situations. Additionally, the European Hospital served as a critical hub for medical evacuations. Its shutdown further burdens existing, overwhelmed hospitals, particularly the Nasser Medical Complex, now the only remaining hospital functioning in Khan Yunis.
Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have criticized the attacks and highlighted Gaza's overburdened healthcare facilities, cautioning that repeated strikes on healthcare infrastructure make living conditions increasingly challenging. The WHO chief has appealed for hospitals to be protected from militarization and targeting, advocating for a ceasefire to prevent further deterioration of Gaza’s fragile healthcare system.
In essence, the closure of the European Hospital has removed essential lifesaving services in Gaza, exacerbating an already critical humanitarian and health crisis by eliminating the last hope for complex treatments such as cancer care and cardiac surgeries within the territory.
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- The closure of the European Hospital, a key provider of health services including cancer treatments, has intensified Gaza's health crisis, given that it was the last functional facility offering medical follow-up for cancer patients and complex treatments like cancer care and cardiac surgeries.
- Amidst the ongoing conflict, the ceasefire is increasingly necessary to safeguard healthcare facilities like the European Hospital, which has been severely damaged, and to curb the worsening health predicament in Gaza, particularly amongst cancer patients, due to the lack of viable treatment options.
