Cairo: Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar met with French Ambassador to Egypt ‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬°ric Chevallier to discuss providing medical and humanitarian support for cancer patients arriving from the Gaza Strip, particularly children, to complete treatment at the Gustave Roussy hospital.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the talks followed up on previous discussions on a French proposal to support cancer treatment, especially pediatric oncology cases, by allocating beds at Gustave Roussy's branch in Egypt to Gaza patients during an initial six-month phase. The proposal also includes the possibility of referring cases that require advanced medical intervention to the institute's main headquarters in France.

Health Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar indicated that the ministry would select the most urgent cancer cases in Gaza for treatment, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, the Egyptian Red Crescent, the ministry's therapeutic medicine sector, and the North Sinai Health Directorate.

Egypt has received thousands of wounded and chronically-ill Palestinians for treatment in its hospitals since the start of the Israeli war on the strip in October 2023.

According to local Palestinian health organizations, there are around 11,000 patients who are currently deprived of specialized or diagnostic cancer treatment inside Gaza. Some 4,000 patients who received medical referrals to hospitals outside the Strip have been waiting for more than two years to travel.

Institut Gustave Roussy is a premier, world-renowned cancer research and treatment center located in Villejuif, France, consistently ranked as the top cancer center in Europe and top 5-10 globally. It specializes in personalized medicine, immunotherapy, and complex care for adults and children.