More than 60 members of the United States Congress have urged the Trump administration to press Israel to allow Palestinian cancer patients in Gaza to travel for medical treatment in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The bipartisan group, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Madeleine Dean and Greg Casar, signed a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday. It calls for the immediate evacuation of child cancer patients and their caregivers, along with guarantees they can return to Gaza after treatment. The letter highlights that 94 percent of Gaza's hospitals have been destroyed or damaged since October 2023, according to the World Health Organization, leaving cancer diagnoses effectively fatal. The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, Gaza's only specialized cancer facility, was destroyed by Israeli forces in March 2025. United Nations data shows at least 1,200 people have died in Gaza while awaiting evacuation approval, including six-year-old Ghazal, who had leukaemia and spent his final two months waiting for permission to leave. The WHO suspended medical evacuations to Egypt in April after Israeli forces killed a medical contractor. The lawmakers proposed establishing a medical corridor linking Gaza to medical facilities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, noting that institutions like Augusta Victoria Hospital have pledged to cover treatment costs. They emphasized that the sole barrier to care is Israel's refusal to approve evacuation requests, despite the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025. Israeli authorities continue to restrict movement and humanitarian aid, citing security concerns.
The same administration that claims to uphold human rights continues to enable a blockade that denies children with cancer a chance to survive. Over 1,200 people have died waiting for medical clearance that Israel has the power to grant but chooses to withhold. The existence of ready hospital beds and funded treatment in East Jerusalem makes the refusal to allow movement not a logistical issue but a deliberate policy. This is not about security—it is about control over life and death.
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