US lawmakers press Israel to let cancer patients out of Gaza for treatment
A bipartisan group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers is pressing Israel to allow cancer patients in the Gaza Strip to receive treatment abroad. According to Al Jazeera, the lawmakers wrote a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. US doctors warned that hundreds of patients could die if a corridor is not opened.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, asked in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a corridor to be opened to allow cancer patients in Gaza to receive treatment abroad. According to Al Jazeera, the letter was signed by 27 senators and 38 members of the House of Representatives. The lawmakers demanded guarantees of safe passage to transfer patients to partner hospitals in Jordan, Egypt and other countries.
A spokesperson for Gaza's Health Ministry said radiotherapy machines at Al-Shifa Hospital were not working because parts for calibration were unavailable and that patients had been unable to receive treatment for months. The World Health Organization warned that between an estimated 600 and 800 patients could die this year if the corridor was not opened. Israel's Health Ministry said case-by-case evaluations were carried out after security review.
A US State Department spokesperson said the request reflected the White House's emphasis on humanitarian issues and that discussions with Israeli authorities were continuing. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said it could also propose hospitals in Ramallah and East Jerusalem as treatment centres if the corridor were opened. Jordan's Health Ministry announced it could reserve capacity for 50 patients for the first group.
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