Nationwide events led by Australian healthcare workers calling for ceasefire in Gaza

29 November 2024

Healthcare workers across Australia will stand together to demand an immediate and indefinite ceasefire in Gaza, as the humanitarian and healthcare crisis reaches catastrophic levels.

The coalition of healthcare workers have organised events across the country to sound the alarm on the targeting of their colleagues in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and call on the Albanese government to apply greater pressure on Israel to reach a permanent ceasefire and abide by international humanitarian law. The healthcare workers' stunts will be impactful visual demonstrations designed to highlight the devastating impact of the ongoing crisis in Gaza on healthcare workers and facilities.

These events will take the form of rallies, vigils, and organised gatherings in key cities across Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. Participants will include healthcare professionals such as nurses, midwives, doctors, medical students, and other allied health workers, standing in solidarity with their colleagues in Gaza. The visuals will feature placards with messages like "Healthcare is not a target," symbolic actions to represent the destruction of hospitals, and moments of silence to honor the healthcare workers killed in Gaza. These events will also involve speeches from prominent healthcare professionals, offering powerful testimony about the violation of international humanitarian law and the urgent need for action.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, healthcare workers have continued to come under attack, despite being protected under international humanitarian law. Since October 7, 2023, the death toll in Gaza has reached an alarming 45,078 people. Among them are 595 healthcare workers with another 420 unconfirmed deaths. Israel's deliberate destruction of hospitals has destroyed Gaza's already fragile healthcare system. 29 ambulances and first responders have been repeatedly deliberately attacked, and over 300 healthcare workers have been detained and tortured. 34 brave members of the Palestinian Red Crescent have been killed while their colleagues have been attacked, tortured or forcibly disappeared. They are, and should never be, targets.

Israel's blockade of Gaza has restricted access to essential medical supplies and humanitarian aid, while the deliberate weaponisation of starvation has further exacerbated the already dire risk of genocide faced by Gaza's population. The United Nations reports that 85% of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been displaced multiple times, with 96% facing severe food shortages and famine. Despite repeated calls for accountability, Israel continues these to commit war crimes with impunity, violating international human rights and humanitarian laws that protect civilians and healthcare services in conflict zones.

Healthcare workers across Australia are leading nationwide events to:

• Demand a ceasefire and end the occupation
• Call for an end to Australia's complicity
• Call on the Australian Government to impose sanctions against Israel for its war crimes.

NATIONWIDE EVENT DETAILS

Sydney: Friday, 29 November, 6:30 PM at Town Hall
Perth: Friday, 29 November, 6:00 PM at Forest Place (permit pending)
Brisbane: Friday, 29 November, 6:00 PM at Queens Gardens
Hobart: Saturday, 30 November, 11:00 AM at Waterfront (Corner of Campbell & Davey Streets)
Melbourne: Sunday, 1 December, 12:00 PM at State Library
Adelaide: Sunday, 1 December, 1:30 PM at Parliament Steps
Darwin: Sunday, 1 December, 1:30 PM at Nightcliff

QUOTES ATTRIBUTABLE TO:

Dr Anna Levinson, General Practitioner, Muloobinba / Newcastle

"As doctors we must not stay silent as our Palestinian colleagues are unlawfully detained, tortured and murdered during this genocide. Healthcare workers' lives are no more valuable than any others, and I despair at all innocent lives lost - but the deliberate targeting of hospitals by Israel is a war crime."

Cassandra Barford, Registered Nurse, Sydney, Australia

"We are the providers of healthcare in all its myriad forms. Protected groups such as civilians, journalists, aid workers and healthcare workers are not and should never be targets. I call on every Registered Nurse and Midwife to speak up and stand up for humanity."

Dr Bushra Othman, Melbourne Australia

"It is unforgiveable that Israel has relentlessly attacked healthcare facilities in Gaza and prevented humanitarian aid and medical supplies entering. This is in complete contradiction to international humanitarian law."

Dr John Guy, HealthWorkers for Palestine, Adelaide

"We must come together as health workers. Israel's attacks on hospitals and health care workers are uniquely iniquitous, and a war crime. We have a responsibility to call it out."

Dr Yassmin Khadra, Brisbane

The deliberate targeting of healthcare workers is not only a crime and gross violation of human rights but also a catastrophic blow to the people of Gaza. It is an attempt to dismantle Gaza's healthcare system and erode the steadfastness of a people already enduring unbearable suffering "

Kitty Hemsley, Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist & Organising member of HCW4Palestine WA

"The people of Gaza don't need empty words and platitudes. The people of Australia don't want to hear these empty words and platitudes from our government. We demand meaningful action to end the invasion, end the destruction, and end Australia's complicity in active genocide in Gaza."

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