‘I am dying slowly’: Gaza professor blocked from cancer treatment by Israel’s siege

‘I am dying slowly’: Gaza professor blocked from cancer treatment by Israel’s siege Submitted by Maha Hussaini on Thu, 07/30/2026 - 11:14 Israel’s restrictions on medicines and medical evacuations leave thousands of cancer patients without life-saving treatment Kholoud Abu Sahmoud says she is slowly dying from cancer as Israel continues to severely restrict medical evacuations (Hani Abu Rezeq/Middle East Eye) Off In a cramped space beneath the staircase of a school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza, university professor Kholoud Abu Sahmoud is slowly losing her battle with cancer. After 15 rounds of chemotherapy, the 33-year-old Palestinian mother of two was told she could no longer continue treatment because the drugs available in the war-ravaged enclave were not suitable for her type of cancer. “I was first diagnosed with liver cancer immediately after giving birth to my daughter, about nine months ago.