The bombardments on Gaza in the last 24 hours alone have claimed the lives of 77 civilians and wounded 265. Two of those killed are our colleagues from the mental health field –
Dr. Ismail Abu Raqab, Head of the Psychiatric Department at the Ministry of Health in Gaza, was killed along with his wife and daughter when his home in Az-Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip, was attacked. Tasneem, a psychologist who worked for an organization supporting refugees, was killed along with her children Sham (5), Suleiman (3), and her unborn child. Another victim, Dr. Khaled Aslan, a family physician at an UNRWA clinic, was killed in a bombing in Nuseirat.
The news regarding the killing of health and mental health professionals and the destruction of health infrastructures in the Gaza Strip, including testimonies of the precise and intentional destruction of vital medical equipment, reaches us, and we cannot remain indifferent. The sights of destruction and the harm to the dedicated teams, who dedicate their lives to healing and helping, should shake every living conscience.
A heavy moral imperative rests on our shoulders: it is the duty of all health professionals in Israel to raise a clear voice against the targeting of civilian infrastructures, foremost among them health infrastructures, regardless of the national or political identity of the victims. This is a profound ethical-humanitarian foundation, which draws from the shared past of our people and from universal fundamental values.
We call upon you to join a resolute call – to openly condemn the destruction of health infrastructures, to raise a voice in favor of protecting the lives of both caregivers and patients, and to oppose any act that violates the basic principles of the profession we represent. Our silence may be interpreted as consent, and we cannot allow ourselves that.
The fate of the two peoples is intertwined. Harm to the Gazan health system is a deep moral wound that does not spare us either. May we be wise enough to serve as an example of responsibility, compassion, and solidarity in accordance with the physician’s oath and the ethical code at the foundation of our professional identity.
The ‘Silence is a Crime’ Forum.
