Mustafa Deveci
17 October 2023•Update: 17 October 2023
JERUSALEM
The blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel has severely disrupted Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital services due to power cuts and fuel shortages, a senior health official said on Tuesday.
Subhi Sukeyk, the hospital’s director, said in a statement that the health care facility is the only one in Gaza with an oncology service, but due to a fuel shortage, a large portion of it is unable to provide health care to cancer patients.
Sukeyk warned that the remaining services would cease within 48 hours, leaving all cancer patients in Gaza without critical health care.
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) constructed the Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital in 2017 upon the directive of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Eleven days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over one million people displaced – almost half of Gaza's total population, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased violence by Israeli settlers.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.
At least 2,848 Palestinians, including 750 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, while the death toll from such Israeli attacks in the West Bank has reached 60.
More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the armed conflict.
*Writing by Necva Tastan in Istanbul
