Seriously ill in Gaza: ‘I wondered whether the cancer or a missile would kill me first’

Fatima is one of around 11,000 cancer patients in Gaza. War and blockades have robbed her of specialist care and even the very basics such as pain relief, all while suffering the indignity of living in a cramped makeshift tent. This is her story

A crowded shelter camp run by Chirstian Aid’s local partner CFTA in the coastal al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza. Credit: Majdi Fathi/Christian Aid

Fatima first felt a lump in her breast in early 2024. Even at the best of times, this would have been a moment of great anxiety.

But for the 41-year-old mother of six, her health scare came three months into Israel’s brutal bombardment of Gaza, which was overwhelming hospitals with tens of thousands of casualties.