Turkey is ready to receive cancer patients from Gaza’s Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, which shut down on Wednesday after running out of fuel, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced today.

This hospital, the only oncology hospital in the Gaza Strip, was forced to close yesterday amid shelling in the enclave.

In his post on Platform X, Koca said that if proper coordination is achieved, Turkey is ready to transfer cancer patients and other patients who need urgent help to Turkey to continue their treatment.

“As Turkey (…) we are ready to provide any assistance to continue the treatment of cancer patients who are forced out of the hospital due to lack of resources. Unfortunately, the international community and the relevant institutions have not taken enough initiatives to prevent attacks on the hospital. Saving the lives of patients is now a duty we cannot avoid,” he added.

Earlier, the United Arab Emirates said it planned to hospitalize 1,000 children from Gaza, without specifying how they would leave the enclave.

Turkey has so far sent more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid and a team of doctors and nurses to Egypt, saying it is ready to set up a field hospital near the Rafah border crossing.

Gaza’s health ministry claimed today that four cancer patients died because its only oncology hospital was shut down. Dr. Marwan Abusada, the chief surgeon at Al Shifa Hospital, said the situation is “beyond catastrophic” in hospitals. “We are almost out of fuel (…) The needs are huge,” due to the many wounded and the fact that the displaced are seeking refuge in hospitals, he explained, stressing that more than 800 wounded are being treated in Al-Sifah, many more than capacity. of the hospital.

Many displaced civilians live in the courtyard and inside the building, in the corridors, and there is a risk of an epidemic. “Emergencies are overcrowded. We have zero capacity to treat all the wounded. Dozens of injured people come for treatment every hour. We are facing a real disaster,” he said.