Gaza Doctors Under Attack: International Testimonies in South Africa Document the Extermination of Health Personnel

Prominent doctors who participated in the 'Israeli Apartheid Week' events in South Africa affirmed that the occupation's targeting of healthcare workers in the Gaza Strip represents a systematic and deliberate policy. Participants clarified that these attacks occur within the context of an ongoing genocide, aiming to undermine the basic necessities of life for the Palestinian people by destroying their healthcare system.

The city of Johannesburg hosted the screening of the documentary film 'Gaza Doctors Under Attack' by director Marita Rivelli, which highlights the existential threats faced by medical teams since October 2023. The film chronicles how hospitals transformed from life-saving centers into direct targets for bombing and siege, starting from Al-Shifa Medical Complex to Nasser Hospital.

Statistics documented in the film indicate that 164 doctors were martyred in the Gaza Strip by April 2024, noting that more than half of these martyrs were targeted and liquidated inside their homes and among their family members. These figures reflect the extent of the dangers that pursue medical personnel even outside their official working hours in field hospitals.

The screening included a harrowing testimony from Dr. Khaled Hammouda, who works at Al-Awda Hospital, where he recounted the humiliating details of his arrest and his exposure to physical and psychological torture at the hands of the occupation forces. Hammouda described how he was stripped of his clothes and paraded in the streets in shackles, in flagrant violation of all international laws protecting medical personnel in times of conflict.

Dr. Hammouda revealed that he lost 12 family members in an airstrike that targeted their home, including three of his siblings who also work in medical professions, in addition to his daughter. This personal tragedy embodies the reality of hundreds of medical families in Gaza who have been directly and systematically subjected to genocide.

For his part, Dr. Khaled Dawas, founder of the Hanoun Foundation, stated that the film refutes Israeli narratives that attempted to justify attacks on hospitals with claims of military presence. Dawas affirmed that independent investigations were prevented from accessing the targeted sites, which reinforces the hypothesis of covering up war crimes committed against patients and medical staff.

The film touched upon the tragic conditions inside Israeli detention centers, specifically the 'Sde Teiman' center, which has become a barracks for torture and severe violations against Palestinian detainees. Medical sources reported testimonies of inhumane practices, including performing surgeries on the injured without anesthesia, and Israeli doctors refusing to provide necessary treatment to patients.

In a moving intervention, Professor Mahdi, head of the Faculty of Medicine at Wits University, compared the experience of apartheid in South Africa with what is currently happening in Palestine. He pointed out that the brutality of the Israeli occupation in dealing with the medical sector far exceeded what the former apartheid regime practiced, praising the legendary resilience of Palestinian personnel.

Dr. Omar Abdel Manan, a pediatric neurologist, explained that the health system in Gaza was on the verge of collapse even before the recent escalation due to the prolonged siege. He added that power outages and a lack of essential supplies made medical work almost impossible, yet teams continued to perform their duties under constant bombardment.

For her part, Rina King from the organization 'South African Jews for a Free Palestine' called for the international community to act to stop supporting the occupation's economy. King criticized the continued supply of coal to Israel, considering that it indirectly contributes to financing the military machine that kills doctors and civilians in Gaza and Lebanon.

King emphasized that documenting these crimes through documentaries aims to restore global human sensibility and realize that what is happening is a morally unacceptable crime. She stressed that international silence regarding the targeting of universities and medical professionals opens the door to further violations throughout the region.

In a related context, Tariq Lala, a member of the South African Students' Congress, indicated that the student movement launched a national petition calling for a complete boycott of Israeli and Zionist institutions. He affirmed that solidarity with Palestine in South African universities is witnessing unprecedented momentum, linking the struggle of the two peoples against racism and occupation.

Dr. Dawas mentioned that the film's introductory tours will move to Cape Town to spread the Palestinian narrative and keep the issue of detained and martyred doctors alive in international memory. He explained that the goal is to expose the deliberate killings of healthcare workers between 2023 and 2025, and to ensure that perpetrators do not escape punishment.

The events concluded by emphasizing that targeting the health system is part of the 'scorched earth' strategy followed by the occupation to forcibly displace the population. Participants stressed that the protection of hospitals and doctors is not just a humanitarian demand, but a fundamental pillar of international humanitarian law that the world must enforce.

What the medical sector in Palestine faces makes the former apartheid system in South Africa seem much less severe.