A group of nearly 100 U.S. doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers who have volunteered in Gaza over the past year is urgently calling on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to end military aid to Israel, describing the atrocities they have witnessed firsthand as “crimes beyond comprehension.” In an open letter to the administration, these medical professionals detailed the devastating toll of Israel’s military operations on the civilian population in Gaza, particularly children, and accused the U.S. government of complicity in the ongoing destruction by continuing to provide military support to Israel.
Since the Hamas-led attack that killed over 1,100 people last year, Israel has responded with an unrelenting military campaign against Gaza. As of this week, Israeli forces have killed at least 41,689 Palestinians and injured nearly 100,000 more. The healthcare workers, who have collectively spent over 250 weeks volunteering in Gaza’s hospitals and clinics, argue that the actual death toll is likely much higher. They warn that the ongoing violence is pushing Gaza into an even deeper humanitarian disaster, exacerbated by the destruction of critical infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and homes.
The letter, signed by physicians, surgeons, nurse practitioners, nurses, and midwives, emphasizes the overwhelming healthcare crisis unfolding in Gaza. According to the signatories, over half of Gaza’s healthcare facilities have been destroyed by Israeli bombings, and nearly 1,000 healthcare workers—more than one in 20—have been killed. “Gaza was the first time I held a baby’s brains in my hand,” recounted Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an orthopedic and hand surgeon. “The first of many.”
Dr. Thalia Pachiyannakis, an OB-GYN, shared how she witnessed countless stillbirths and maternal deaths that could have been easily prevented had the hospitals been functioning normally. Pediatric nurse practitioner Asma Taha described the harrowing sight of babies dying from malnutrition because their mothers were too malnourished to breastfeed, and there was no formula or clean water available. “Every day I saw babies die,” said Taha. “They had been born healthy, but the resources we needed to save them were nowhere to be found.”
The healthcare providers detailed how children and other civilians have become the primary victims of Israel’s attacks. They claim that many of the deaths they have witnessed were not accidental but deliberate. “Every one of us who worked in an emergency, intensive care, or surgical setting treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head or chest on a regular or even daily basis,” the letter states. “It is impossible that such widespread shooting of young children throughout Gaza, sustained over the course of an entire year, is accidental or unknown to the highest Israeli civilian and military authorities.”
The medical professionals also challenged Israel’s justification for targeting Gaza’s medical infrastructure. While Israeli officials have repeatedly claimed that militants are using hospitals as cover, the healthcare workers insisted that they saw no evidence of such activity. Instead, they argue that Israel has systematically destroyed Gaza’s healthcare system to deepen the suffering of the civilian population. “Israel has targeted our colleagues in Gaza for torture, disappearance, and murder,” the letter reads, referring to Palestinian healthcare workers.
The healthcare professionals are urging the Biden administration to immediately halt military aid to Israel and support an international arms embargo on both Israel and Palestinian armed groups. They argue that continuing to provide weapons to Israel violates both U.S. and international law, particularly the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits the U.S. from supplying arms to countries committing human rights abuses. The letter states that a ceasefire must be imposed on the warring parties by stopping arms shipments and pressuring other nations to do the same.
The letter to Biden and Harris makes clear that the U.S. has the power to prevent further bloodshed. “We appreciate that you are working on a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, but you have overlooked an obvious fact: the United States can impose a ceasefire on the warring parties by simply stopping arms shipments to Israel, and announcing that we will participate in an international arms embargo on both Israel and all Palestinian armed groups,” the letter argues. “American law is perfectly clear on this matter: continuing to arm Israel is illegal.”
Adding to the urgency of their message, the healthcare workers highlighted the disparity between the U.S. response to evacuating Americans from Israel and Gaza. While the State Department swiftly arranged special flights and ships to evacuate U.S. citizens from Israel following the October 2023 Hamas attack, Americans in Gaza have largely been left to fend for themselves. “Americans of Lebanese descent have been treated as lesser U.S. citizens than Israeli U.S. citizens,” said one American citizen in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera. “It is as if we don’t exist.”
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has also been vocal about the administration’s slow response to evacuating Americans from Gaza, including one of her own constituents who was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this week. Tlaib called it a “disgrace” that her staff has had to “beg” the administration to help evacuate her constituents, adding that the State Department is “leaving Americans behind and failing to protect their own citizens.”
As Israel’s military campaign continues with no end in sight, the healthcare workers are imploring Biden and Harris to take swift action before more lives are lost. The letter concludes with a powerful plea: “President Biden and Vice President Harris, we are 99 American physicians and nurses who have witnessed crimes beyond comprehension. Crimes that we cannot believe you wish to continue supporting. Please meet with us to discuss what we saw, and why we feel American policy in the Middle East must change immediately.”
By detailing their firsthand experiences and providing a clear path for U.S. action, the healthcare workers hope to spur the administration into ending its military support for Israel and pushing for a permanent ceasefire. For them, the human cost of continuing down the current path is simply too great to ignore.
COMMENTS