Physicians Against Genocide Calls on US Senate to Take Action to End Genocide in Gaza

Physicians Against Genocide met in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to urge the U.S. Senate to take action to end the genocide in the devastated Gaza Strip.

The Global Alliance of Healthcare Workers mobilized more than 100 doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals on Capitol Hill.

“We are here because our duty as medical professionals does not stop at the hospital doors. It is our responsibility to protect life and to sound the alarm when we witness crimes against humanity,” the doctors said.

“What is happening to the Palestinian people is genocide, and it is being funded by American taxpayer money. We refuse to be complicit,” Dr. Nidal Jabbour, a co-founder of the group Physicians Against Genocide, told reporters at a news conference at the Hart Building on Capitol Hill. “We are calling on the Senate to take immediate action.”

Jabour said the group is calling for the restoration of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and an end to the forced displacement of Palestinians.

"We also demand a permanent ceasefire, not just negotiations, but a complete end to the massacre of innocent civilians," he added.

The Palestinian doctors' group also called for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was arrested by Israeli forces along with others during a raid on the facility on December 27, 2024.

Meanwhile, Capitol Police interrupted the press conference, saying they were not allowed into the building.

Doctors continued to make their statements outside the Hart Building.

The ceasefire in Gaza and the prisoner exchange agreement in effect since January 19, suspended the genocidal war waged by Israel since October 7, 2023, which killed more than 48,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the Strip in ruins.

On October 21, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Galant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its war on the Strip.