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Gaza Cancer Rates on Rise

After each Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, cancer rates soar among Gazans as a result of increased radiation in the environment, reports Asmaa al-Ghoul.

A Palestinian woman lifts her son, who is being treated for cancer, in the paediatric ward of Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem November 6, 2012. Six hospitals in East Jerusalem face a financial crisis because the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority has been unable to meet payments for their services, jeopardizing the healthcare of thousands of West Bank patients. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: HEALTH POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR3A2BM
A Palestinian woman lifts her son, who is being treated for cancer, in the pediatric ward of Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem Nov. 6, 2012. — REUTERS/Baz Ratner

The Information Center at the Ministry of Health in Ramallah said that cancer was the second-leading cause of death in Palestine during the last year, after heart disease. Cancer had been the third-leading cause of death for many years.

The Information Center at the Ministry of Health issued a statement in February 2013 according to which 12.4% of the total deaths in Palestine were caused by cancer in 2011, compared to a rate of 10.8% in 2010. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights indicated in a report issued in June 2012 that deaths resulting from cancer in the Gaza Strip amounted to 12% of all deaths, making cancer the second-leading cause of death in the Gaza Strip after heart disease.

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