Health Workers

There is war in Gaza again. At this time, it seems like heavy smoke is covering the area, the media, consciousness, and the entire future. But one thing can be already stated with certainty: the casualties of this war have already paid the price. Its dead have already died; its wounded will go on to contend with the pain and trauma for the rest of their lives. As health and medical professionals, Jews and Arabs, our position is no more moral than that of anyone else, but by dint of our positions and our ongoing work, our point of view is different.

Health workers here say they are now battling two enemies: the unprecedented Ebola epidemic, which has killed more than 660 people in four countries since it was first detected in March, and fear, which has produced growing hostility toward outside help. Workers and officials, blamed by panicked populations for spreading the virus, have been threatened with knives, stones and machetes, their vehicles sometimes surrounded by hostile mobs. Log barriers across narrow dirt roads block medical teams from reaching villages where the virus is suspected.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today released the latest numbers on attacks on health care in Syria, which show that – with 30 deaths – May was the deadliest month for medical professionals. Twelve new attacks on medical facilities were recorded in June, marking the second highest month for attacks on medical facilities. The violations, which are being tracked on an interactive map, show deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities, which violate international humanitarian laws. While all sides of the conflict have committed these crimes, government forces are responsible for an overwhelming 90 percent of the attacks.

In light of many cases of damage to hospitals, clinics, and medical personnel in the Gaza Strip, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has sent an urgent communication to the Attorney General and to the Minister of Defense. Yesterday, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-IL) sent a letter to the Attorney General and the Defense Minister of Israel, addressing the harming of medical facilities and medical teams, and the difficulties of evacuating casualties in the course of the Gaza military operation.

OSLO (Xinhua) – Sven Mollekleiv, president of the Norwegian Red Cross, accused Israeli soldiers on Monday of allegedly attacking health workers in the Gaza Strip and preventing the latter from retrieving the wounded and dead. “Our sister organization – the Palestine Red Crescent Society – stated that their health care teams were directly attacked by Israeli forces,” Mollekleiv told the Norwegian news agency NTB.