Israeli court blocks life-saving cancer care for boy, 5, due to his Gaza address

An Israeli court has rejected an appeal to allow a five-year-old Palestinian boy with an aggressive form of cancer to enter Israel for life-saving treatment, citing a government policy that bars residents registered in Gaza from crossing the border, even when they no longer live there.

In a ruling issued on Sunday, the Jerusalem district court dismissed a petition seeking permission to transfer the child from Ramallah to TelHashomer hospital near Tel Aviv for a bone marrow transplant – a procedure unavailable in either Gaza or the occupied West Bank. The boy has been in the West Bank since 2022 where he was receiving medical care unavailable in the Gaza Strip. His doctors have determined that he urgently requires antibody immunotherapy.

The decision reflects Israel’s sweeping ban on the entry of people living in Gaza after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, including cancer patients who, before the war, had routinely been granted access to life-saving treatment in Jerusalem.

“I have lost my last hope,” the child’s mother told Haaretz, describing the ruling as a death sentence for her son. She said the boy’s father died of cancer three years ago.

In his judgment, the Israeli judge Ram Winograd characterised the petition as an indirect challenge to the security establishment’s post-7 October restrictions, which have prevented Gaza residents from entering Israel for medical treatment. While acknowledging that thousands of children in Gaza are in urgent need of care, the judge argued there was no meaningful distinction between the boy’s case and those of other patients barred by the policy.

“The petitioners failed to demonstrate a real and relevant difference,” Winograd wrote, noting that the child’s presence in Ramallah did not, in his view, justify an exemption from the blanket ban.

Gisha, an Israeli human rights organisation, has been engaged in legal proceedings regarding the boy’s case since November 2025, arguing that the child’s situation exposed the cruelty of a rigid bureaucratic system that prioritises registry data over medical urgency.

“This case once again illustrates the devastating consequences of a sweeping policy that denies Palestinians access to life-saving medical care solely on the basis of their registered address in Gaza, even when they are not residing there and no security allegations are raised against them,” Gisha said in statement. “The significance of this ruling is that the court is providing backing for an unlawful policy that effectively condemns children to death, even when life-saving treatment is in reach.”

About 11.000 Palestinian cancer patients are still trapped in Gaza despite the reopening of the Rafah crossing last week. Doctors say cancer-related deaths have tripled in the territory since the war began, as Israel continues to hinder patients from leaving and restricts the entry of chemotherapy drugs. While some patients have left, they are far outnumbered by those deemed in medical need who have not.

According to health officials in Gaza, there are about 4,000 people with official referrals for treatment to third countries who are unable to cross the border. The World Health Organization says 900 people, including children and cancer patients, have already died while waiting for evacuation.