Friendship Hospital for treating cancer patients in Gaza City. Its construction began in 2011 with funding from the Turkish government, and it entered service in 2020 after its construction and equipping work faltered due to the conditions of the siege. It is the only hospital of its kind in the Gaza Strip. It stopped service in early November 2023 due to severe damage to the building and the failure of the electromechanical systems after it was targeted by Israeli air strikes.
In addition, the hospital stopped due to running out of fuel and medicines, and satellite images showed that the occupation army had begun to use the hospital as a military barracks, in which dozens of vehicles were stationed, and it also bulldozed some facilities in its courtyard.
Location and building
Al-Sadaqa Hospital is located in the central area of the Gaza Strip, along Al-Hurriya Street, in one of the best areas of Gaza in terms of calm and green environment, as it was chosen to be suitable for treating this type of disease.
The building consists of 8 wings, some of which reach 6 floors, and has 200 beds. It is connected by a bridge to the building of the Faculty of Medicine at the Islamic University. It includes departments for the blood bank, operations, medical treatment, endoscopy, pharmacy, kidney, heart, nursery, outpatient clinics, radiology, laboratories, a conference hall, and an administration building.
As for its annual capacity, it can accommodate 30,000 patients and 1,700 trainees, including medical and nursing students and allied health services.
Establishment
Construction work on the hospital began in 2011 on an area of 33,400 square metres, with funding from the Turkish government. Its construction cost amounted to $40 million, and the cost of medical devices and equipment was $10 million, according to news reports.
It was established to be a center for treating cancer patients in the Gaza Strip, in addition to training students of medical specialties affiliated with the Islamic University. However, due to the conditions of the Strip, the completion of the works was delayed beyond the specified deadlines, and the deadlines for starting operation were delayed after the completion of its construction.
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) accused the Palestinian National Authority government in the West Bank of obstructing the opening of the hospital after taking it over in 2017, while the Palestinian Prime Minister at the time, Muhammad Shtayyeh, said, “Completing the agreement with the Turkish government to cover operational expenses is what caused the delay in its operation.”
Because the start of work coincided with the Corona (Covid-19) pandemic, the hospital was transformed into an isolation facility for infected people and those in contact with patients.
Starting in 2021, oncology treatment services were transferred to it after they had been distributed in a number of government hospitals in the Gaza Strip, making it the only specialized, integrated center for treating cancer patients in the Gaza Strip, and its management was assumed by the Ministry of Health in coordination with the Islamic University in Gaza, which was built on land belonging to it.
Israeli targeting
With the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood at the beginning of October 2023, the vicinity of Al-Sadaqa Hospital was subjected to repeated air strikes that hit some wings of the building and affected the progress of work there.
As a result of the continued targeting, the depletion of fuel, and the prevention of the entry of medicines, the suffering of cancer patients in the hospital worsened, and Israel did not heed the warnings of the World Health Organization.
Hospital director Sobhi Skaik said, “The occupation is not only increasing the suffering of cancer patients by depriving them of medicines and travel for treatment outside Gaza, but it is now endangering their lives by bombing.”
Out of service
In early November 2023, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the hospital was out of service after it was severely damaged by Israeli air strikes, in addition to running out of fuel.
The Director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also confirmed that the hospital was out of service, calling for saving the lives of these patients.
Cancer patients were forced to leave the Turkish Friendship Hospital, and their suffering doubled due to the disease, the lack of medicines and treatments, and the ban on traveling in search of treatment abroad or in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the occupied interior, in addition to the lack of safety due to the continuous Israeli bombing on various areas of the Gaza Strip.
With its departure from service, Al-Sadaqa Hospital joined the list of Gaza hospitals that stopped providing medical services to those injured during the war, in addition to more than 150 other health institutions that were partially destroyed.
Military barracks
Analysis of satellite images between November 2023 and April 2024 showed that the number of Israeli military vehicles increased inside Al-Sadaqa Hospital, which the occupation turned into a military barracks.
It also showed that it is surrounded by earthen fortifications to protect dozens of vehicles stationed in its vicinity, with a branching logistical supply line linking the hospital/barracks and what is known as the “Netzarim Road,” which was created by the occupation army to separate the north and south of the Gaza Strip.
This hospital was only one of a group of important and major hospitals in the Gaza Strip that was targeted by the Israeli army with air strikes and raids, including Al-Shifa Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital, Baptist Hospital, Nasser Hospital, and others.