Dr. Amjad Aliwa: The number of referrals of patients who traveled compared to those present in the sector does not exceed 5% 
 Sick child Sabah Al-Qarnawi needs urgent treatment and her grieving mother demands her immediate travel 
 Hajj Nafeth Abu Diya burst into tears: “I don’t know what my fate will be. Will I die or will I live?” 
 Patient Yasmine Hashish, her husband was arrested by the occupation and left alone to struggle with illness and displacement and support her daughters

"My daughter is dying slowly and no one feels it," said the mother of the cancer-stricken child, Sabah Al-Qarnawi, expressing her grief over the pain of her daughter who is suffering in front of her eyes without her being able to do anything.

The mother told Al-Quds.com: “My daughter suffers from lymphoma cancer when she is 6 months old. I used to take her to the hospital once a month, but the Israeli war changed everything and she stopped receiving treatment.”

Her daughter was supposed to travel in December 2023, but the occupation’s procrastination in issuing her transfer prevented that.

The Israeli occupation's closure of the crossings and its prevention of the entry of medicines and treatment for patients, especially cancer patients, has greatly exacerbated their suffering.

The child's mother added: "My daughter needs treatment for phlegm, and she has to do steaming twice a day. The more phlegm she has, the more she chokes and her health suffers... Her treatment is not available, so I have to make her drink hot liquids."

The girl and her mother live in great fear in light of the deterioration of her daughter's health and the end of her chemotherapy treatment. Her condition requires her to travel abroad to complete her treatment, but the closure of the Rafah land crossing has deprived her of her right to treatment.

The mother says: “Now my daughter is suffering from a problem in her left eye, as her vision has become 0 out of 6, so she needs eye drops that are not available in the Gaza Strip.”

The mother turned her face to her daughter, hid her tears, then asked: “What is my daughter’s fault that she should die?” She added: “I demand that my daughter travel immediately.”

The catastrophic situation of the little girl is no different from that of Hajj Nafeth Abu Diya, who has been suffering from cancer in the glands and vocal cords since last year, and is in dire need of chemotherapy before it is too late.

He told Al-Quds.com: “One day before the Israeli army stormed the Turkish Friendship Hospital, I received the dose, not to mention that I am 70 years old and my need to complete the treatment is greater than ever.”

For more than a year, the patient Abu Diya has not received his treatment, because the occupation has not allowed the chemotherapy doses for cancer patients, and even the medicines and painkillers are not available to them.

He added: "All the doctors in the sector told me that my treatment is not available, and my health condition requires me to travel abroad."

The lack of the necessary treatment for the patient Abu Diya has greatly exacerbated his condition. Abu Diya continues: “I suffer from a loss of balance. I cannot walk unless I support myself on something, not to mention my inability to stand for a long time.”

A hoarse voice choked him, and he burst into tears as he said, “I don’t know what my fate will be. Will I die or live?” He continued, “I only ask to save my life.”

Three wars combined in the heart of a patient 
Three wars came together in the heart of the patient Yasmine Hashish, who expressed her pain by saying: “I am fighting alone: the disease, displacement with my daughters, and the absence of my husband.”

Yasmine has been suffering from thyroid and lymphoma cancer for five years. She tells the story of her suffering to “I” and “Al-Quds” Dot Com: “I suffered at the beginning of my illness during the Corona period and underwent two operations to remove the thyroid gland. At that time, I was supposed to travel to complete my radioactive iodine treatment, but the occupation refused to transfer me.”

She added: “Seven months after the thyroidectomy, doctors discovered 50 lymph nodes on the left side of my neck, because I did not receive my treatment on time.”

The ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip for more than 300 days has exacerbated the illness and suffering of Yasmine, who was displaced with her husband to the southern Gaza Strip. She did not know that the occupation would arrest her husband and leave her alone to support her three children.

But what was not expected was that doctors recently discovered new lymph nodes on the right side of her neck. She says: “All of this is because I did not travel to complete the treatment, and I will have to undergo a third operation.”

She added: "I suffer from many complications. My blood pressure rises and falls many times, and I have severe bone pain, not to mention the cramps that affect my body."

12 thousand cancer patients in the sector suffer 
In turn, the specialist doctor at the Turkish Friendship Hospital, Amjad Aliwa, told “I” and “Al-Quds” Dot Com: “The Israeli occupation is the main reason for the exacerbation of the suffering of cancer patients, by closing the crossings and preventing the entry of the medicines and treatment necessary to save their lives.”

He added: "Sometimes the occupation allows the entry of medicines in very small quantities that are not sufficient for the huge number of people in the hospitals of the Strip."

12 thousand cancer patients in the Gaza Strip suffer from the same pain, 500 of whom died due to lack of treatment and delay in traveling abroad. He added: “There are cases that were recently diagnosed with the disease and their recovery rate if treatment was available is 90%.”

According to Dr. Aliwa, the number of referrals of patients who traveled compared to the number of those present in the sector does not exceed 5%.
Aliwa called on all international parties and the World Health Organization to pressure the occupation to open the crossings and bring in the necessary medicines and treatment for cancer patients.