Health workers and activists from various sectors issued an open letter this Sunday calling on various Portuguese authorities to take an “urgent and important” position on the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
More than a hundred medical workers are “shocked by the growing humanitarian disaster and attacks carried out by the State of Israel in the Gaza Strip, which have already resulted in the deaths of more than 220 fellow professionals and more than 14 thousand civilians,” according to a statement on Sunday, they sent an open letter demanding the position of various professional health departments.
Louise Russo, one of the subscribers, told Lusa that the letter came from a group of medical workers who were activists of the Palestine Liberation Collective and the People Before Borders collective, some of whom had already visited Palestine or the Gaza Strip.
“Our main goal is for professional medical institutions to take a stand on what is happening because we cannot remain indifferent to the fact that in this war that is happening in the Gaza Strip, medical workers and hospitals are being targeted,” – Louise Russo emphasized. .
According to this professional, the letter was sent this Sunday to the orders and relevant officials of doctors, nurses, psychologists, nutritionists, dentists, pharmacists and physiotherapists asking them to “condemn this violence, which affects not only the Palestinian people”, but also “medics, even representatives of other nationalities.”
Condemnation of systematic attacks on hospitals, medical centers and ambulances is another of the group’s calls, as well as a demand for an unrestricted, immediate and permanent ceasefire “so that there can truly be humanitarian aid in Gaza.”
Louise Rousseau acknowledged that the letter also aims to “put political pressure on the Ministry of Health to ensure that the rights of health workers in Gaza are protected” and that “war crimes committed in Gaza have been recognized.” hospitals and healthcare workers.”
Another goal is a statement of “solidarity and support for colleagues in the Gaza Strip.”
“It is thanks to the contacts we have with the people there, and the fact that several trade unions are mobilizing internationally to take a stand, that we understand that health workers in Portugal can and should also take a stand,” he explained . . more.
In the statement sent out, doctors note that “to date, the state of Israel has killed more than 14 thousand people, of which 5,600 (40%) are children.”
“To these victims must be added more than 33 thousand wounded, not counting more than six thousand people who are still missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings. This means that every day about 420 children are killed or injured, some of them living only a few months,” the letter also states.
Health workers stress that deliberate and systematic attacks on civilian infrastructure have already displaced 1.7 million people. “Targets include refugee camps, schools, shelters, hospitals and ambulances,” the note said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the letter says, the State of Israel has already attacked, at the time of writing this letter, 164 medical facilities and more than 220 medical workers have been killed in the Gaza Strip. “About 70% of health centers and 26 of 35 hospitals are currently out of service due to collapsing infrastructure, insecurity, shortages of fuel, electricity, water, food and medicine.”
Claiming that “medics work in appalling conditions,” they believe that “deliberately attacking hospitals is a war crime entirely typical of international law.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.