US Congress urges Trump administration to facilitate Gaza cancer patient evacuations
More than 60 lawmakers call for a medical corridor to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, highlighting that over 1,200 patients have died awaiting approval since the conflict began.
A bipartisan group of more than 60 US Congress members has written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the Trump administration to compel Israel to lift restrictions on Palestinian cancer patients in Gaza. The letter, signed by 51 House members and 11 Senators, calls for the facilitation of medical evacuations to hospitals in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, with specific provisions for children and their caretakers.
The lawmakers argue that the systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system has left approximately 11,000 cancer patients without adequate care. According to the World Health Organization, 94 percent of hospitals in the territory were destroyed or damaged during the conflict that began in October 2023. The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, identified as the sole specialised cancer facility in the strip, was destroyed in March 2025.
Doctors estimate that cancer deaths in Gaza have tripled since the onset of the war. The letter highlights that at least 1,200 people have died while waiting for evacuation approvals, including a six-year-old boy with leukaemia named Ghazal. It notes that Israeli authorities have largely rejected medical evacuation requests since October 2023, citing security concerns, despite the ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025.
The correspondence proposes the establishment of a medical corridor connecting Gaza to facilities in the West Bank and Jerusalem. It notes that Augusta Victoria Hospital and the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have offered to cover all relevant expenses for receiving patients. The lawmakers seek guarantees from Israel that evacuees will be allowed to return to Gaza after treatment.
The letter also points to the suspension of medical evacuations to Egypt by the WHO in April, following the killing of a medical contractor by Israeli forces. Signatories include Senators Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen, and Representatives Madeleine Dean and Greg Casar. Deyar Jamil, a fellow at the human rights group DAWN who helped craft the letter, stated that the obstruction of care requires US political cover.
