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"Hundreds of patients could be treated easily and efficiently in a short time if this route reopened to the East Jerusalem Hospital Network and the hospitals in the West Bank," says Dr Fadi Atrash, CEO of the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives. "We can at least treat 50 patients per day for chemotherapy and radiation and even more than that. Other hospitals can do a lot of surgeries," the doctor tells me. "Referring them to East Jerusalem is the shortest distance, the most efficient way, because we have the mechanism. We speak the same language, we're the same culture, in many cases we have medical files for Gazan patients. They've been receiving treatment in East Jerusalem hospitals for more than a decade before the war." The BBC asked Cogat, the Israeli defence body which controls Gaza's crossings, why the medical route was not being approved. Cogat said it was a decision by the political echelon and referred queries to the Prime Minister's Office which did not offer further explanation. After the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023, Israel cited security reasons for not allowing Gazan patients in other Palestinian territories. It also pointed out that its main crossing point for people at Erez had been targeted by Hamas fighters during the assault. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says that in the year to August 2025, at least 740 people, including nearly 140 children, died while on waiting lists. At Nasser hospital, the director of paediatrics and maternity, Dr Ahmed al-Farra, expresses his frustration. "It's the most difficult feeling for a doctor to be present, able to diagnose a condition but unable to carry out essential tests and lacking the necessary treatments," Dr al-Farra says. "This has happened in so many cases, and unfortunately, there's daily loss of life due to our lack of capabilities." Since the ceasefire, hope has run out for more of his patients. In the past week in the hospital grounds, a funeral took place for Saadi Abu Taha, aged eight, who died from intestinal cancer. A day later three-year old Zain Tafesh and Luay Dweik, aged eight, died from hepatitis. Without action, there are many more Gazans who will not have a chance to live in peace.
