Israel has killed more than 1,000 Palestinian doctors and nurses in Gaza, officials say
Gaza Strip - Gaza authorities on Sunday reported that Israel has killed more than 1,000 doctors and nurses in the besieged Palestinian territory since October of last year.
"Over 310 other medical personnel were arrested, tortured, and executed in prisons," Gaza's government media office said in a Sunday statement, according to the Anadolu Agency.
"The Israeli army also prevented the entry of medical supplies, health delegations, and hundreds of surgeons into Gaza," the office added.
Israel has faced repeated accusations of intentionally targeting and attempting to destroy Gaza's health care infrastructure – accusations the media office reiterated in its statement.
"Hospitals have been a declared target for the Israeli army, which bombed, besieged, and stormed them, killing doctors and nurses, injuring others after directly targeting them," the office said.
The attacks come as the people of Gaza face the overwhelming threats of disease and starvation on top of relentless bombardment and repeated forced displacements.
Israel has slaughtered at least 44,056 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, according to the territory's health ministry. The British medical journal Lancet and other experts believe the true number to be far greater, upwards of 186,000 as of July 2024.
US complicit in Israel's genocide
International pressure is growing as Israel's genocide in Palestine unleashes unfathomable human suffering.
The International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The International Court of Justice last January ruled there is a plausible case Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Nevertheless, the US has continued to fund Israel's atrocities in Palestine and across the Middle East.
Last month, 99 American health care workers who had volunteered in Gaza sent an open letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris calling for urgent government action to protect Palestinian lives.
"A ceasefire must be imposed on the warring parties by withholding military support for Israel and supporting an international arms embargo on Israel and all Palestinian armed groups. We believe our government is obligated to do this, both under American law and International Humanitarian Law. We also believe it is the right thing to do," the signatories wrote.
The White House let a November 13 deadline for Israel to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza pass by without any consequences. The Biden-Harris administration claimed Israel is not obstructing humanitarian aid – despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The Senate last week rejected an effort led by Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders to restrict certain offensive weapons transfers to Israel.
Cover photo: AFP