A 20-year-old Palestinian woman from the Gaza Strip who died shortly after being evacuated to Italy for medical treatment had cancer, Israel said on Sunday, after the woman was widely reported to have arrived at the hospital in a “state of severe physical deterioration.”

The cancer diagnosis had been omitted from reports of her death.

COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that coordinates humanitarian matters in the Gaza Strip, took to X with a copy of a document issued by Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, in which it was stated that Marah Abu Zuhri suffered from leukemia.

The medical report stated that Abu Zuhri required “urgent” medical treatment “as soon as possible.”

“Italian authorities contacted Israel requesting Marah’s evacuation due to her illness, and Israel approved it,” said COGAT.

Abu Zuhri had been admitted to the University Hospital of Pisa late Wednesday and died on Friday.

The hospital described her as arriving in a “state of severe physical deterioration,” and as having a “very complex clinical picture” and serious wasting, which is when a person has significant weight and muscle loss.

Italian media reports — cited by publications including the BBC, the

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