Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) condemns the total destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital and calls for urgent international action to stop Israel’s systematic targeting of Gaza’s health infrastructure.
The hospital, located south of Gaza City, was Gaza’s only specialised cancer hospital, accredited to treat up to 30,000 patients a year. On 30 October 2023, an Israeli airstrike hit its third floor. Days later, fuel shortages -due to Israel closure of crossing and fuel entry- forced its closure, putting 70 patients at risk, with four confirmed dead due to lack of medical care. On 21 March 2025, the hospital was completely destroyed in an Israeli airstrike.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces have systematically attacked Palestinian healthcare infrastructure, including hospitals, crippling essential, life-saving services. The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Israel has pursued a deliberate policy to dismantle Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a broader assault, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination. The Commission further concluded in March 2025 that through its systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive health facilities including maternity hospitals and main IVF clinics “Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including by imposing measures intended to prevent births, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention”.
Now, no hospitals are fully functional in Gaza and only 22 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partially functional to serve 2 million Palestinians, who are once again under indiscriminate bombardment. Most of these hospitals have been attacks, and suffering with the lack of fuel, electricity, and medical supplies.
Since Israel broke the Gaza ceasefire on Tuesday, nearly 600 Palestinians - including at least 200 children and over 110 women - have been killed. Hospitals face severe shortages of medical supplies after Israel imposed a total siege on 2 March 2025, blocking all food, medicine, fuel, and humanitarian aid.
Fikr Shalltoot, MAP's Gaza Director said: “The destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital is a death sentence for Palestinians, especially cancer patients in Gaza. With the healthcare system already in ruins, there is nowhere left for them to turn. Patients who should be receiving life-saving treatment are now left to suffer, on top of the thousands injured in relentless attacks. This is a deliberate assault on the right to healthcare, and the world cannot remain silent."
Rohan Talbot, MAP's Advocacy and Campaigns Director said: “Deliberate attacks on hospitals are war crimes. The destruction of Gaza’s only cancer hospital is the latest in a systematic pattern of Israeli attacks on healthcare that is making life impossible for Palestinians. They must be fully investigated, and those responsible held accountable. The evidence of Israel's ongoing serious violations of international law in Gaza cannot be ignored and the UK government must not continue to be an ally to these atrocities."
MAP’s team in Gaza remains committed to delivering lifesaving medical assistance to those in need with what they have available. Working with local and international partners, our 10 medical points across Gaza continue to operate and provide primary healthcare services to Palestinians.