The closing of the Rafah border crossing has cut off an escape route for Palestinians in Gaza, dashing the hopes of those needing critical medical care amid the collapse of the health system while the United Nations warns that millions could suffer from starvation this summer, according to the Washington Post.
Israel last month seized the key Rafah crossing into Egypt, which tens of thousands of Gazans have used to leave the Palestinian enclave since the war started on Oct. 7.
But that changed when Israel launched its military offensive in Rafah in its effort to wipe out Hamas.
Talks are underway between the United States, Egypt and Israel to reopen the crossing, through which humanitarian aid shipments flow, but little progress has been made.
For many in Gaza, the closing of the border is a veritable death sentence.
Fidaa Ghanem, 44, who was diagnosed in February with lymphoma, received financial support from the Palestinian Ministry of Health so she could receive radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments in Egypt that were not available in Gaza, the Post reported.
Her name was included on a list of approved departures for May 7. But Israel seized the Rafah crossing the previous day.
"My wife was deprived of traveling and receiving treatment in Egypt," her husband, Maher, told the newspaper.
He said his wife was treated at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza, but it wasn't enough.
"Her health condition is deteriorating and the tumor is spreading," he told the Post last month.
"There is no medical care, even the painkillers that are given [to her] are weak and not sufficient for a cancer patient," he added.
Ghanem, a mother of five, died on June 4.
The World Health Organization estimated earlier this month that about 14,000 people in Gaza need to be evacuated for medical care.
More than 37,000 people have been killed and 85,000 wounded in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, the Washington Post reported, citing the Gaza Health Ministry.
