Anticipation is growing in the Gaza Strip among thousands of injured and sick individuals awaiting the reopening of the Rafah land crossing, following a period of severe closure that has exacerbated the suffering of critical cases. Field estimates indicate that waiting lists include over 20,000 Palestinians in urgent need of travel for treatment abroad, especially with the continued deterioration of security and political conditions that have negatively impacted movement through border crossings.
Informed sources reported that Israeli occupation authorities have expressed their intention to partially reopen the crossing for individual movement starting next Wednesday. Those stranded in the Strip have high hopes that the new mechanism will allow hundreds of cases to exit daily, overcoming previous failures that permitted only a very limited number of passages, disproportionate to the scale of the health catastrophe experienced by the population.
In a related context, cancer and tumor patients in the remaining treatment centers in Gaza suffer from harsh conditions, lacking the most basic medical care, chemotherapy drugs, and supportive services. Field sources confirmed that the health system is in a state of near-total collapse due to continuous targeting and siege, turning medical beds into mere waiting areas without providing real treatment protocols to save the lives of those affected.
Sources quoted patient Manal Zagout, one of the cancer sufferers, as saying that the hope that emerged weeks ago with the opening of the crossing quickly dissipated after the recent military escalation, leading to a decline in chances of survival. Zagout explained that patients are currently forced to use alternative, non-specialized types of medication in a desperate attempt to cope with their pain amid the absence of available treatment options within the besieged Strip.
The continued closure of crossings and the deprivation of Gazans' right to treatment and medicine come as part of the occupation's policy of restriction, which disregards humanitarian obligations and truce requirements. Human rights activists and medical bodies appeal to the international community to pressure for the sustainable flow of medical aid and the exit of the injured, away from military complexities that put the lives of thousands at stake.
Our chances of exiting, whether for survival or treatment, have diminished, and we are classified as life-saving cases in the absence of health services.
שתף את דעתך
Thousands of Patients in Gaza Await Reopening of Rafah Crossing Amid Warnings of Comprehensive Health Collapse