MEDAC: One year of Genocide

We are marking a full year of Israel’s sustained military assault on Gaza, and throughout occupied Palestine. As a movement for health justice, we must bear witness to the horrors wrought on the Palestinian people by Israel – the immeasurable loss and devastation – and do all we can to demand our governments do all in their power to bring about its end.  

In this post, ‘One year of genocide’, we recount the devastating health impacts of Israel’s catastrophic militarised violence, its recent escalations in Lebanon, and the egregious complicity and outright support from Western powers. We also call attention to the powerful, sustained solidarity from UK health workers – taking to the streets and taking action to hold our government to account from the start.

Our history reminds us that in the midst of catastrophic violence, people of conscience do not sit back and do nothing. Since our founding days as MAPW and MCANW following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, throughout the Iraq war, and over the course of Israel’s near eight-decade occupation of Palestine, healthcare workers have recognised that they have a responsibility to stand up for justice and peace.

We must continue to come together to do all that we can to end this expanding violence and warfare. One year on, our demands on the UK government remain the same: it must use its influence to bring about a ceasefire and end all arms sales to Israel—anything less would mean unconscionable further complicity in the most deadly militarised violence of the 21st century.

In solidarity,

Sarah Lasoye (she/her)
Transforming Peace & Security: Campaign and Programme Lead
Medac

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