Healthcare Workers Serving in Different Countries Call the Events in Gaza "Genocide"

Healthcare workers from various countries have described the events in Gaza, which has been continuously attacked by Israel since October 2023, as "genocide."

Speaking to an AA correspondent during the "Great White Tent Protest," which they launched in front of the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva to protest the events in Gaza and the targeting of their colleagues, healthcare workers expressed their concerns.

Hüseyin Durmaz, a member of the International Health Initiative who traveled from Turkey to participate in the demonstration, stated that they had previously made calls with more than ten healthcare organizations in Turkey and later contacted their colleagues in other countries to organize a protest with concrete demands.

Durmaz said, "Thus, an international coalition was formed. Right now, more than 100 healthcare organizations from over 12 countries are actively present here. However, in addition to those present, more than 50 countries have signed the statements we issued or are conducting simultaneous solidarity actions in their own countries in support of this protest."

Explaining that they organized this demonstration to clarify their previous efforts for Gaza and to receive responses to their calls, Durmaz emphasized that they wanted to highlight what the UN and its affiliated organizations should do.

Durmaz stated, "First and foremost, we want a permanent ceasefire. Because as long as this situation continues in Gaza, there is no chance for any aid. Gaza's healthcare system has completely collapsed. According to our scientific studies, even if we were granted unconditional access to Gaza right now, it would take 12 years to fully restore everything. We demand the immediate and unconditional opening of medical aid, including personnel and supplies."

Noting that their calls have received responses, Durmaz said that a delegation of healthcare professionals met with UN officials yesterday.

He continued:
"For the first time in world history, we are witnessing such an event; we have all watched a genocide unfold live. We have seen healthcare workers being killed and people being massacred. This is unprecedented in history. For the first time, not just Muslim communities but the entire world agrees on this matter. There is a new global dynamic. If this dynamic is properly understood, the world can move towards better days. Gaza represents an opportunity for a new world order built on justice and goodness. It has brought together so many people. People of all religions and nationalities are here right now and have been on the streets from the very beginning. Well-intentioned politicians must read this new dynamic correctly and create a proper plan."

"We Can Now Speak of Genocide Without Any Doubt"

Nuriya Belhadj, an Algerian-born French healthcare worker, stated that a massacre has been occurring in Gaza for the past year and a half and that despite the current ceasefire, it is not being respected by Israel.

"As healthcare workers, we are particularly affected by what is happening to our colleagues in Palestine because we believe we have a sacred mission for our patients. We must stand in full solidarity with them," Belhadj said.

Stressing that the mission of providing healthcare should be respected worldwide without any hindrance, Belhadj asserted that the targeting of healthcare workers should never be accepted.

"(Regarding what is happening in Gaza) We can now speak of genocide without any doubt. Genocide is not only about exterminating an entire population but also about eliminating a part of it. This can be for political, ethnic, or religious reasons," she stated.

"It Is Very Difficult to Call This Anything Other Than Genocide"

Dutch healthcare worker Sara Galli stated that they were calling on the UN to protect healthcare workers in Gaza and the West Bank, saying, "Because they are under an attack unlike anything we have ever seen before."

Pointing out that the health situation in Gaza is at a catastrophic level, Galli noted that since October 7, 2023, there have been more than 1,400 attacks on healthcare services, resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 healthcare workers.

She emphasized that more than 12,000 people in Gaza are waiting for urgent medical evacuation, but this has not been permitted.

Highlighting the dire conditions in which healthcare workers in Gaza are operating, Galli stated, "We have seen footage of healthcare workers being forced to amputate their own children's legs without anesthesia. There is even a healthcare worker who froze to death."

Worrying that what is happening in Gaza is genocide, Galli continued: "The UN has two reports stating that the warfare tactics used by Israel are consistent with genocide. We have a special rapporteur who has determined that the criteria for genocide have been met. There are a total of 65 experts and independent institutions who have declared this a genocide. So it is very difficult to call this anything other than genocide."