[News] 99 US doctors in Gaza report no militant activity in hospitals

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/99-us-doctors-in-gaza-report-no-militant-activity-in-hospita>
99 US doctors in Gaza report no militant activity in hospitals
Al Mayadeen English
October 4, 2024
------------------------------

US volunteer doctors have emphasized that they did not observe any
Palestinian militant activity in Gaza's hospitals or healthcare facilities
during their time there.
[image: c1786365-f9e3-4c30-9bed-359d9947e9dc.jpeg]

   - A child stands next to the bodies of family members after they were
   killed during Israeli bombardment, on January 10, 2024, in Rafah in the
   Gaza Strip. (*AFP*)

A group of 99 US doctors and medical professionals
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/health/us-health-workers-sound-alarm--gaza-facing-dire-medical-cris>
who volunteered in Gaza reported seeing no signs of militant activity in
the enclave's hospitals and urged the Biden administration to halt all
military, economic, and diplomatic support for "Israel".

In a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the
volunteers, who collectively dedicated 254 weeks to Gaza’s healthcare
facilities, recounted the dire humanitarian conditions amid the ongoing
Israeli offensive, describing their experiences as witnessing "crimes
beyond comprehension."

"We wish to be absolutely clear: not once did any of us see any type of
Palestinian militant activity in any of Gaza’s hospitals or other health
care facilities," they stated in the letter, published on the "Gaza
Healthcare Letters" website.

They urged the administration to recognize that "Israel has systematically
and deliberately devastated Gaza’s entire health care system," targeting
their colleagues in Gaza with "torture, disappearance, and murder."
'Every day I saw babies die'

The letter highlighted the suffering of women and children in hospitals
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/100-children-killed--injured-every-day-in-gaza--unicef>,
emphasizing issues like widespread malnutrition and a lack of essential
medical supplies. They referenced a July study in *The Lancet* that
reported the death toll in Gaza
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/the-lancet-estimates--israel--killed-up-to-186-000-palestini>
had surpassed 186,000, which is more than 5% of the population.

"Every day I saw babies die. They had been born healthy. Their mothers were
so malnourished that they could not breastfeed, and we lacked formula or
clean water to feed them, so they starved," recounted Asma Taha, a
pediatric nurse practitioner.

"Gaza was the first time I held a baby’s brains in my hand. The first of
many," Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an orthopedic and hand surgeon, reflected in
the letter.

The doctors condemned "Israel’s continued, repeated" displacement of the
sick and malnourished population of Gaza—half of whom are children—into
areas lacking basic sanitation, calling it "absolutely shocking".

"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," they
asserted.

The group called for the Biden administration to support an international
arms embargo on both "Israel" until a permanent ceasefire is achieved. They
also requested a meeting with Biden and Harris to discuss their
observations and the urgent need for a change in US policy in the Middle
East.

Additionally, they reiterated their earlier calls from their July 25 letter
to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow humanitarian aid, including water and
medical supplies, into Gaza.

"Every day that we continue supplying weapons and munitions to Israel is
another day that women are shredded by our bombs and children are murdered
with our bullets," they concluded.

*Read next: Early concerns over US complicity, Israeli war crimes in Gaza
unveiled
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/early-concerns-over-us-complicity--israeli-war-crimes-in-gaz>*
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