We, the undersigned, write to urge you to call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli siege of Gaza. On October 14, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian Territory warned that Palestinians are at grave risk of mass ethnic cleansing in Gaza. According to Save the Children, one child dies every 15 minutes in Gaza.

Acting on the ethics of our profession, we condemn all violence against civilians and attacks on healthcare, including the violence of the Israeli military occupation of Palestine, the Israeli siege of Gaza, and the Israeli apartheid system, the attacks on Israeli civilians and taking of hostages by Hamas. We also acknowledge that this is not a “war” between two equal parties, but rather collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza (half of them children) by Israel, which boasts one of the top 10 most powerful militaries in the world. 

We commend the brave leadership of members of our Congressional delegation who have spoken out for deescalation and/or ceasefire, including Representatives Pressley, McGovern, and Senator Markey. The U.S. is the one world superpower standing in the way of deescalation. As U.S. taxpayers, whose government sends $3.8 billion per year to Israel in military aid, we must hold Israel accountable for its actions. The Leahy Law clearly prohibits the U.S. Government from using funds for assistance to foreign security forces, which have been credibly implicated in gross violations of human rights (GVHR). 

Between October 7 and October 26, Israel has:

• Cut off access to water, food, essential medicines and fuel to Gazan civilians, which Human Rights Watch has indicated is a war crime

• Killed at least 6547 Palestinians in Gaza, 68% of them women and over 2000 children and 1600 people under the rubble including 900 children 

• Issued evacuation orders to 23 hospitals in Gaza, which the WHO calls a “death sentence for the sick and injured.” 

• Destroyed or damaged 45% of Palestinian homes in Gaza

• Forced displacement of 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza

• Repeatedly attacked healthcare facilities and medical personnel, in an ongoing pattern of illegal military targeting of healthcare

• Bombed Palestinians evacuating to Southern Gaza along designated “safe routes”

Although we appreciate Senator Markey and Senator Warren’s expressions of humanitarian concern towards Gaza, the only way to truly address humanitarian concerns is to end Israel’s siege, which Human Rights Watch has decried as collective punishment of a civilian population and a war crime. Aid convoys cannot adequately address the unprecedented catastrophe Israel has created by cutting off all water, food, electricity and essential medicines to Gaza, and requiring half of Gaza's population to evacuate, which the U.N. has repeatedly stated is impossible. Humanitarian aid groups warn that 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing life-threatening shortages. Humanitarian convoys can barely scratch the surface. The convoy on October 20 brought water for 22,000 people for one day (less than 1% of the daily need for the entire population). 

As healthcare workers, we urge our elected officials and health institutions demand an end to Israel’s systematic attacks on the Palestinian health system, which represent a historic pattern:

• Hospitals in Gaza are ceasing to function because they are running out of water and fuel for generators, while being overwhelmed by huge numbers of casualties and civilians seeking shelter from Israeli bombing. Surgeons are operating without anesthetic, by the light of cellphones, and using vinegar for antiseptic

• Between October 7 and 25 there have been at least 171 attacks on health care in occupied Palestinian Territory, reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) 

• Israel has issued evacuation orders to 23 hospitals in Gaza, which the WHO calls a “death sentence for the sick and injured,” 

• At least 26 health facilities have been damaged, including 17 hospitals, 4 of which had to be evacuated and are no longer operational 

• 28% (1554) of all attacks on healthcare in the world occurred in occupied Palestinian territory since the WHO started tracking them in 2017.

• Palestinians face systematic health inequities in infant, child and maternal mortality, life expectancy, among others, most related to Israel’s military occupation of Palestine

On October 19th, 2023, genocide scholars and 100 international civil service organizations (CSOs) sent a letter to urge Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, to issue arrest warrants and investigate Israel for crimes of genocide in occupied Palestinian territory. We urge our legislators to review the definition of genocide, which the United Nations Genocide Convention defines as follows: 

“In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

1. Killing members of the group;

2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”

Israeli officials at the highest levels have also made dehumanizing comments inciting violence against Palestinian civilians, through military force as well as restricting food, water and fuel:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to reduce Gaza to “rubble”, and told besieged Palestinians to leave Gaza. 

• Israeli military spokesperson R. Adm. Daniel Hagari made the startling admission that “hundreds of tons of bombs” had already been dropped on the Gaza Strip on October 10, 2023, adding that “the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy.” 

• Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, stated: “We are imposing a complete siege on [Gaza]. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel – everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.” 

• Nissim Vaturi, member of the Knesset for Likud, called for “erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth. Those who are unable will be replaced.” 

• Another member of the Knesset for Likud, Ariel Kallner, called for another Nakba: “Right now, one goal: Nakba! A Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of 48. Nakba in Gaza and Nakba to anyone who dares to join!” 

• Israel’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen, promised that “[a]t the end of this war, not only will Hamas no longer be in Gaza, the territory of Gaza will also decrease.”

• At the beginning of the siege on Gaza in 2006, Dov Weisglass, then a senior advisor to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, explained that Israeli policy was designed “to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.”

With 1.4 million Palestinians already displaced, it is impossible not to see the historical parallels with the 1948 Nakba that involved the violent displacement of more than 750,000 Palestinians from over 500 villages by Zionist settlers, when the state of Israel was created. 

66% of the US public agrees, across party lines, that the U.S. should call for an immediate deescalation of violence and ceasefire in Gaza. We are aghast that as our government has slashed food stamps and health insurance for millions of Americans, the White House may ask for an additional $10 billion to Israel to continue bombing Palestinian civilians. 

In closing, we urge you to take immediate action for a lasting ceasefire, and an end to the siege on Gaza, and to move towards a meaningful resolution of the injustices at the root of the violence in Palestine and Israel. Every minute we wait is a moment too late. 

1. Aastha Pokharel, MS3, Medical student, Massachusetts

2. Abd Abdelrahman, MD, Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician, Massachusetts

3. Abdallah Gad, MD, American Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Massachusetts

4. Aiman Suleiman, MD, Massachusetts

5. Aisha James, MD MEd, Physician, Massachusetts

6. Alan Meyers, MD,MPH, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics, Massachusetts

7. Alexis Ladd, MPH, Marketing, MA

8. Aliya Moreira, MD, MPH, Resident Physician, Massachusetts

9. Allison Arteaga Argumedo, BA, Program Manager, Massachusetts

10. Allison Haley, Communications manager, Ma

11. Amina Chaudhry, MD MPH, Massachusetts

12. Amir Mohareb, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

13. Amna Ahmed, MD, Indiana

14. Anand Chukka, Medical Student, Massachusetts

15. Andrea Dettorre, MPH, Public health professional, Massachusetts

16. Andrew Hyatt, MD, Staff Psychiatrist, Massachusetts

17. Angela Kelly, LMHC, Massachusetts

18. Anja Johnson, Massachusetts

19. Aparna Nair-Kanneganti, BS, Medical Student, Massachusetts

20. Ariba Memon, Student, MA

21. Arvind Badhey, MD,

22. Avik Chatterjee, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts

23. Azraa Amroze, B.S., Medical Student, Massachusetts

24. Bram Wispelwey, MD, MPH, Massachusetts

25. Brett Lewis, MD, Resident Physician, Massachusetts

26. Bruce Ramphal, BS, Medical Student, Massachusetts

27. Carrie Pollack, Massachusetts

28. Casey Waskiewicz, BA, Program Assistant, Massachusetts

29. Cassandra Fox, APRN, Nurse Practitioner, MA

30. Charles Hardin, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Massachusetts

31. Christopher Zaro, BA, Medical Student, Massachusetts

32. Claire Paduano, MD, Massachusetts

33. D. Brendan Johnson, MD MTS, Resident Physician, MA

34. Dana Hassneiah, MD, MPH, Physician, Massachusetts

35. Dana Bogan, LICSW, Clinical Social Worker, MA

36. David Boyer, Digital Channel Manager, Massachusetts

37. Desiree Hartman, MSW Candidate, Senior Program Coordinator, Massachusetts

38. Devin Wolfe, MSW, LCSW, Massachusetts

39. Drew Madore, PsyD, Psychology Fellow, MA

40. Elena Pavlenkov, BSN, RN, A-GNP-C, Nurse Practitioner, MA

41. Elizabeth Sullivan, MA, Massachusetts

42. Ellen Israel, BSN, CNM, MPH, Massachusetts

43. Emma Anderson, MPH, Program Coordinator, Massachusetts

44. Faisal Syed, MD, Cardiologist, Texas

45. Gabrielle Martin, Medical student, Massachusetts

46. Galina Tan, MD, Primary care physician, Massachusetts

47. George Plummer, Md, Fellow, Massachusetts

48. Ghinwa Hassan, MD, MD, New Hampshire

49. Gordon Schiff, MD, Massachusetts

50. Gretel Munroe, MA, Harvard Middle East Center, MSH Demography, Harvard School of Public Health, Massachusetts

51. Henry H Wortis, M.D.,, Professor, Immunology, MA

52. Hibah Osman, MD, MPH, Senior Physician, Massachusetts

53. Hum Farid, MD, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Massachusetts

54. Humera Khurshid, MD, Rhode Island

55. Iman Ali, MD, Physician, NJ

56. Jack Beinashowitz, PhD, Associate Director Program for Psychotherapy, Massachusetts

57. Jacob Buckley, MD, Massachusetts

58. Jayda Jones, MPH, Massachusetts

59. Jayme Shorin, MSW LICSW, Teaching Assistant, Massachusetts

60. Jennifer Marino, MS3, Massachusetts

61. Jennifer Zacharia, MD, Massachusetts

62. Jennifer Brody, MD, MPH, Physician, Massachusetts

63. Jeremy Stricsek, MD, Family Physician, Massachusetts

64. Jim Recht, MD, Lecturer on Psychiatry, Massachusetts

65. Juliana Morris, MD, Family physician, Massachusetts

66. Karameh Kuemmerle, MD, Pediatric Neurologist, Massachusetts

67. Karim Sariahmed, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

68. Kasia Dillon, MS3, Medical Student, Massachusetts

69. Katherine Miller, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

70. Kathryn Himmelstein, MD, MSEd, Fellow in Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts

71. Kathryn Horsley, Doctor of Public Health, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, California

72. Kathryn Hibbert, MD, Massachusetts

73. Kelsey Berdeguez, MPH, Public Health Consultant, Massachusetts

74. Khameer Kidia, MD, Instructor, Maine

75. Kimberly Beliard, Bachelor of Science, Technical Associate I, Massachusetts

76. Kristen Lowder, Medical student, Massachusetts

77. Lara Jirmanus, MD MPH, Primary Care Physician and Clinical Instructor, Massachusetts

78. Lee Richman, MD/PhD, Resident physician, MA

79. Lianet Vazquez, MD, Medical Resident, Massachusetts

80. Linda Spencer, MSW, Massachusetts

81. Malak Rafla, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

82. Mallika Govindan, MD, AAHIVS, Physician, MA

83. Manzar Rajput, MD, Physician, Michigan

84. Marcela Horvitz-Lennon, MD MPH, Attending physician, Massachusetts

85. Mardge Cohen, MD, MD, Massachusetts

86. Mariam Dogar, BS, MSM, Student, Massachusetts

87. Mark Eisenberg, MD, Assistant Prof of Medicine, Massachusetts

88. Mazen Nasrallah, MD,MSc, Massachusetts

89. Melanie Brunt, MD, MPH, Chief of Endocrinology, MA

90. Miguel Dorante, MD, MBE, Resident Physician, MA

91. Mirret El-Hagrassy, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Massachusetts

92. Mohammad El-Ghanem, MD, Texas

93. Moira Cunningham, MD, MPH, Physician, Massachusetts

94. Mudusar Raza, MD,

95. Muhammad Kaleem, MD, Alabama

96. Nadya Ajanee, MD, Mississippi

97. Nagina Aslam, DO, Michigan

98. Naheed Usmani, MD, Massachusetts

99. Natalie Kuhn, MD, Resident Physician, MA

100. Natasha Bitar, MD candidate, MS3, Massachusetts

101. Nida Javeed, BS, Research Associate, Massachusetts

102. Nikki Turgeon, MD, Resident, MA

103. Nithin Paul, MD, MPH, Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine physician, Massachusetts

104. Olivia Mauricio, MSN, PMHNP, Massachusetts

105. Omar Wahid, MD, Family Physician, Massachusetts

106. Omar Ziyad, MS, Massachusetts

107. Omar Taweh, BS / BA, Fourth Year Medical Student, Massachusetts

108. Parween Quraishi, MSW, LSW, Social Worker, New Jersey

109. Priscilla Lee, BS, Worcester, Massachusetts

110. Ramesh Govindna, MD, PhD, Resident, Massachusetts

111. Ramona Dvorak, MD, Clinic Director, Massachusetts

112. Rasha Khoury, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts

113. Rebecca Panwala, NA, Medical Student, Massachusetts

114. Robert Berry, MD, Physician, MA

115. Rosemary Cobb, BA, Massachusetts

116. Rusul Alani, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

117. Ruth Economou, MSW, Social Worker, Massachusetts

118. Safina Adatia, MD, MSc, Addiction Medicine Fellow, Massachusetts

119. Saja Alani, MPH, Project Manager, MA

120. Sally Cheek, MSW, LICSW, Clinical Social Worker, Massachusetts

121. Samuel Shaw-Wilgoski, MSN, Nurse Practitioner, MA

122. Sarah Button, RN, School Nurse, Massachusetts

123. Sarah Miller, MSW, Massachusetts

124. Sarah Bayer, MSW/LICSW, Director of Resources and Support Services, Massachusetts

125. Sarah Kuruvilla, MPH, Massachusetts

126. Sarah Bansen, APRN, MSN, WHNP, PMHNP, Massachusetts

127. Sarah Jagdmann, RN, APRN, Massachusetts

128. Sarah Kader, MD, MBA, General Surgery Resident, MA

129. Sascha Murillo, MD, Primary care physician, MA

130. Sherar Andalcio, MD, Medical Director, Massachusetts

131. Sohail Hassan, MD MBA, Michigan

132. Sonia Lipson, FNP, Massachusetts

133. Stella Barth, MD candidate class of 2025, Massachusetts

134. Stephanie Preston, MD, Massachusetts

135. Stephanie Seller, MPH, Program Manager, Massachusetts

136. Sumaira ALi, MD, Rhode Island

137. Sumayyah Akhtar, Med student, Massachusetts

138. Sunny Kung, MD, Medical Director, Massachusetts

139. Susan Goedeken, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist, Massachusetts

140. Susan Swords, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

141. Susan Massad, Doctorate in Health and Safety, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Professor, Massachusetts

142. Sussen Miller, Masters degree, Medical Interpreter, MA

143. Sylvianne Shurman, MD, ScM, Resident, Massachusetts

144. Takahiro Yamaguchi, MD, General pediatrician, Massachusetts

145. Taylor Weckstein, Student, Massachusetts

146. Thea Patterson, RN, Staff nurse, Massachusetts

147. Tia Tucker, MD, MPH, Family medicine physician, Massachusetts

148. Wendy Jehlen, Nationally certified ASL-English interpreter, Medical Interpreter, Massachusetts

149. Wissam Deeb, MD, Massachusetts

150. Yasmeen Baajour, APC, Associate therapist, Massachusetts

151. Anonymous, DDS, Dentist, Massachusetts

152. Anonymous, Physician, Internist, Massachusetts

153. Anonymous, MD/MSc, interventional cardiologist, Director of Structural Heart Program, Florida

154. Anonymous, MD, Medical Director, Massachusetts

155. Anonymous, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Massachusetts

156. Anonymous, MD, Massachusetts

157. Anonymous, MD, Massachusetts

158. Anonymous, MB BCh BAO MSc PhD, Attending Physician, Massachusetts

159. Anonymous, MSW, None, Massachusetts

160. Anonymous, BS, Massachusetts

161. Anonymous, B.S.

162. Anonymous, Medical Student, Massachusetts

163. Anonymous, MD

164. Anonymous, MD

165. Anonymous, M.D. Candidate, Massachusetts

166. Anonymous, BS

167. Anonymous, MD, Hospitalist

168. Anonymous, BSc, Massachusetts

169. Anonymous, PhD, Medical Student, Massachusetts

170. Anonymous, RN, Massachusetts

171. Anonymous, MD, Resident Physician, Massachusetts

172. Anonymous, MD, Massachusetts

173. Anonymous, BA, Medical student, Massachusetts

174. Anonymous, B.S., Massachusetts

175. Anonymous, Bachelors of Science, MD/PhD candidate

176. Anonymous, PhD, Psychologist, Massachusetts

177. Anonymous, MD, Massachusetts

178. Anonymous, DO, Massachusetts

179. Anonymous, PhD

180. Anonymous, BA, Student, Massachusetts

181. Anonymous, MD, Family medicine physician, Massachusetts

182. Anonymous, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

183. Anonymous, MA Certificate, Massachusetts

184. Anonymous, MD

185. Anonymous, Massachusetts

186. Anonymous, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC, Massachusetts

187. Anonymous, Medical Student, Massachusetts

188. Anonymous, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

189. Anonymous, DMD, Dentist, Massachusetts

190. Anonymous, PhD candidate

191. Anonymous, MD, Family medicine Chief Resident, Massachusetts

192. Anonymous, B.S., MS2, Massachusetts

193. Anonymous, MD-PhD Student, Massachusetts

194. Anonymous, MPH, Consultant, Massachusetts

195. Anonymous, MD, Massachusetts

196. Anonymous, Bachelor’s and Certificates and Certified medical interpreter, Medical interpreter, Massachusetts

197. Anonymous, MPH, Medical Student, Massachusetts

198. Anonymous, BSN RN, Registered Nurse, Massachusetts

199. Anonymous, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

200. Anonymous, Medical Student, Massachusetts

201. Anonymous, MD, California

202. Anonymous, MD, MD/ owner, California

203. Anonymous, MBBS, PhD, Associate Professor, Minnesota

204. Anonymous, MD, Attending Physician, Massachusetts

205. Anonymous, MD, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts

206. Anonymous, MD

207. Anonymous, BA

208. Anonymous, BA, Medical Student, Massachusetts

209. Anonymous, MD, Massachusetts

210. Anonymous, MD, Michigan

211. Anonymous, MD

212. Anonymous, MD, Michigan

213. Anonymous, MD, PhD, Professor, Massachusetts

214. Anonymous, MD, Massachusetts

215. Anonymous, MD, Associate Professor, Massachusetts

216. Anonymous, MD, Texas

217. Anonymous, MD, MPH, Physician, Washington

218. Anonymous, MD, Head & Neck Surgical Oncologist, Rhode Island

219. Anonymous, Masters

220. Anonymous, MD, Massachusetts

221. Anonymous, Medical Student, Massachusetts

222. Anonymous, MD, Physician, Massachusetts

223. Anonymous, BA, Medical Student, Massachusetts

224. Anonymous, MD, Resident Physician, Massachusetts

225. Anonymous, MD, Physician, MA

226. Anonymous, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, MA

227. Anonymous, Nurse Practitioner, MA

228. Anonymous, Medical Student, MA

229. Anonymous, Medical student, Massachusetts

230. Anonymous, MSN, Nurse Practitioner, MA

231. Anonymous, PhD, Clinical psychologist, MA

232. Anonymous, MD, retired physician, Massachusetts

233. Anonymous, PMHNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, MA

234. Anonymous, Registered Nurse, Massachusetts

235. Rachel Judelson, Nationally Certified ASL/English Interpreter, Medical Interpreter, MA