Photo: Fang Gleizes for PHRI
Healthcare is a cornerstone of social solidarity, essential to a society’s survival and flourishing. It is a system in which community members care for one another’s needs, demonstrating mutual responsibility and accountability. From birth to death, healthcare is how we nurture, save, and preserve each other’s lives.
An attack on healthcare, therefore, is an attack on much more than infrastructure, resources, and personnel—it is an assault on the very fabric of society.
For nearly four decades, Physicians for Human Rights Israel has been at the forefront of defending the right to health for individuals and communities under Israeli rule.
This year, however, has been different. Not only have we fought for equitable access to care, but we have also been pushed to our limits in the battle against the brutal assault on healthcare itself. In Gaza, Israel has systematically destroyed the healthcare system, killed over a thousand medical professionals, and incarcerated 230 others. This ongoing assault has placed the entire population at extreme risk.
Full Report
English | Hebrew | Arabic
Approximately 25,000 sick and injured individuals urgently require medical evacuation, yet there are no adequate means of care available within the Strip. Our petition to the Israeli High Court, filed in June 2024, has faced repeated delays and in the months between June and December 2024, fewer than 400 patients were evacuated from Gaza.
During the harsh years of Israel’s blockade, we witnessed firsthand how Gaza’s healthcare system became a lifeline—an institution of survival and resilience, offering hope and mutual support even under the direst conditions. To see it collapse is devastating. But to witness Gaza’s doctors, nurses, medics, and mental health professionals risk their lives to remain by their patients’ sides—fighting for every life—compels us to continue the fight for them, for their patients, and for their future.
Engaging in human rights work in a time of carnage is profoundly painful, both personally and professionally. It is to bear witness to immense suffering, often feeling powerless to stop it. Yet, it is also a work filled with hope: standing shoulder to shoulder with colleagues, knowing that facilitating the evacuation of a single child can save an entire world. In times of despair, our mission is to open more eyes to the atrocities and provide reliable information that can shift international policies.
In this moment of dehumanization, our work is one of re-humanization. We are deeply grateful to those who walk this path with us.
