Introduction
In times of war and humanitarian crisis, medical professionals are expected to serve as neutral protectors of life, bound by international laws that shield them from the front lines of political and military conflict. However, in Gaza, a narrow, densely populated strip of land besieged by recurring violence and blockade, doctors have found themselves not just tending to victims of war, but becoming victims themselves.
Over the course of successive conflicts between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza, doctors and medical workers have been targeted, arrested, killed, and obstructed in the performance of their duties. This erosion of medical neutrality has raised serious concerns from international human rights organizations, the United Nations, and medical associations around the globe. Yet, the suffering continues, as Gaza’s healthcare system collapses under the dual pressure of siege and bombardment.
A Healthcare System on the Brink
Gaza has long faced systemic challenges in healthcare due to a 17-year blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt, which severely restricts the import of medical supplies, fuel, and essential equipment. The blockade, imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, has left hospitals in a state of chronic scarcity. Many essential medicines and life-saving devices are either outdated, unavailable, or rationed. Electricity shortages force hospitals to rely on generators, which themselves require hard-to-obtain fuel.
When armed conflict erupts—as it did in 2008–09, 2012, 2014, and again in 2021 and 2023—the already fragile health infrastructure teeters on the verge of collapse. The recent war that began in October 2023, following a surprise attack by Hamas on southern Israel and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza, has brought the healthcare system to its knees.
Doctors Under Fire
In previous conflicts, hospitals and medical workers were treated with some degree of caution, but the 2023–2024 war marked a dramatic shift. Reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the Palestinian Ministry of Health documented a sharp increase in attacks on medical facilities and personnel.
Doctors and nurses have been killed in airstrikes, ambulances have been hit by missile fire, and hospitals—once considered sanctuaries—have become sites of siege and combat. Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest and most advanced hospital in Gaza, was repeatedly bombed and eventually raided by the Israeli military, which claimed that Hamas had established command centers beneath the complex. While Israel cited intelligence to justify these operations, the cost to civilians, medical workers, and patients—many of whom were infants, elderly, or in critical care—was staggering.
According to the WHO, by early 2024 more than 300 healthcare workers had been killed, over 500 injured, and dozens of hospitals rendered non-functional. At least 24 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were forced to shut down due to damage, lack of fuel, or encirclement by military forces. Meanwhile, field clinics set up by humanitarian organizations have been repeatedly targeted, looted, or destroyed.
Breach of International Law
International humanitarian law, especially the Geneva Conventions, provides clear protection for medical personnel and facilities during armed conflict. Article 19 of the First Geneva Convention states that “fixed establishments and mobile medical units of the Medical Service may in no circumstances be attacked, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the parties to the conflict.” Attacks on hospitals are considered war crimes unless the facility is being used for acts harmful to the enemy, and even then, advance warning must be given, and the attack must be proportionate.
Israel has argued that hospitals in Gaza were being used by Hamas for military purposes, such as housing command posts, storing weapons, or sheltering fighters. However, human rights groups have expressed skepticism about the scale and verifiability of such claims. Even if proven, the principle of proportionality—measuring military advantage against civilian harm—remains a critical legal and ethical standard.
Doctors Without Borders described the repeated bombardment of hospitals as “a despicable disregard for life,” while the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called for independent investigations into possible war crimes. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also launched preliminary inquiries into the conduct of all parties.
Doctors as Human Shields and Prisoners
In some of the most shocking developments during the 2023–24 war, doctors have reported being taken hostage or used as human shields. Eyewitnesses claimed that Israeli forces detained medical staff during raids, in some cases binding their hands, stripping them, and interrogating them under suspicion of being affiliated with Hamas. In November 2023, a senior surgeon from Al-Shifa Hospital was arrested during a raid and held without formal charges. Similar accounts emerged from Al-Awda Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital in the north of Gaza.
The practice of targeting or detaining doctors not only disrupts care—it demoralizes and endangers those who have sworn to save lives, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or religion. When a doctor is arrested or killed, it sends a chilling message: neutrality is no protection.
The Psychological Toll on Medical Professionals
Beyond the physical danger, Gaza’s doctors endure immense psychological trauma. Working 18-hour shifts with no rest, seeing children and families die in their arms, often while separated from their own loved ones—many of whom are also at risk—has taken a profound mental toll.
Doctors speak of nightmares, guilt, and a sense of abandonment by the international community. “We are dying while trying to save lives,” said one pediatrician interviewed anonymously by the BBC. “The world is watching, but no one is stopping it.”
Some medics have chosen to stay in bombed-out hospitals despite the danger, unwilling to leave their patients behind. Their commitment has drawn global admiration—but also a renewed call for protection and accountability.
Voices from the Frontlines
Numerous testimonies from Gaza’s medical workers have gone viral, shared through social media and global news outlets. One young surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a British-Palestinian who volunteered at multiple hospitals, posted harrowing images of injured children and crowded emergency rooms. In interviews, he decried the international community’s silence, stating: “This is not just a war zone; it’s a crime scene.”
Meanwhile, international medical volunteers, such as those with the International Red Cross or MSF, have echoed the horror and urgency of the situation, begging for humanitarian corridors, ceasefires, and respect for medical neutrality.
The Collapse of Medical Education and Future Impact
An overlooked consequence of the war is the destruction of Gaza’s medical education infrastructure. Medical schools and training hospitals have been damaged or closed, and many students have either fled or perished. This threatens to create a lost generation of doctors and nurses, exacerbating Gaza’s already dire shortage of healthcare professionals.
Even if the war were to end tomorrow, rebuilding Gaza’s healthcare system will take decades. The loss of trained specialists, sophisticated equipment, and institutional knowledge cannot be quickly restored. The war has not only shattered the present—it has robbed Gaza of its medical future.
Conclusion
Gaza’s doctors have long operated under pressure, but the 2023–2024 war has transformed that pressure into peril. As medical facilities become battlegrounds, and doctors become targets, the very fabric of humanitarian law is being shredded. The assault on healthcare in Gaza is not just a tragedy—it is a violation of the most sacred norms of human civilization.
Protecting doctors in conflict zones is not a matter of charity—it is an international obligation. Without safe hospitals, there is no sanctuary. Without doctors, there is no healing. And without accountability, there is no justice.
The global community must demand an end to the war on medicine. It must speak not only for the patients, but for the people who risk everything to care for them. Gaza’s doctors are under attack, but their courage—and the lives they fight to save—must never be forgotten.
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/gaza-doctors-under-attack
