Palestinian cancer patients in the Gaza Strip demanded the provision of medicines that they are denied as a result of the Israeli blockade.

The Palestinians made the call in a protest in front of the Turkish Friendship Hospital in the Gaza Strip.

The Director General of the Turkish Friendship Hospital, Dr. Sobhi Skaik, expressed his solidarity with the protesters: "Our message during this stand is to communicate the suffering of cancer patients in the Gaza Strip to the whole world and the extent of their suffering due to the lack of resources, medicines and treatments allocated to them."

Skaik noted that more than 9,000 cancer patients are treated in the hospital.

As cancer rates increase among the population, Dr. Skaik said that cancer patients in Gaza suffer from a lack of diagnostic and treatment capabilities. 

He called on the international community for "the need to save the lives of cancer patients and to provide the treatment services that the patient deserves."