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THERE ARE NO words any of us can command, to sum up the horror we all feel about the horrors inflicted upon the people of Gaza.
Living for decades in an open prison, pre-war Gaza seems, by comparison, a paradise.
Of all the undoubted crimes committed against a civilian population the worst is surely the wholesale, widespread, deliberate and systematic targeting of Healthcare Workers and Infrastructure.
There is no fully functional hospital in Gaza right now. All have been damaged and many have been destroyed.
Over 1,000 healthcare workers have been killed, some tortured to death.
Hundreds of others have been abducted by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), at the barrel of a gun, or with brute violence, even as they go about their humanitarian work. Surgeons have been assaulted and taken away mid-operation. More have been prevented from offering assistance to those in need.
Their crime? They refused to leave their patients.
Civilians and combatants have been abducted from hospitals while awaiting, or receiving treatment.
These are all war crimes, prohibited by International Humanitarian Law.
Even if the IDF’s claims were true, that hospitals were used as Hamas command and control centres, the protection of the Geneva Convention still applies to those receiving treatment, including terrorists.
When those attacks disproportionately injure or kill civilians, or destroy objects essential for survival, yet more international laws are broken.
These actions need to be named for what they are: war crimes. They are not accidental, collateral damage. In Gaza, the targeting by Israel of healthcare workers and infrastructure has been systematic. The universally recognised emblems of the Red Cross and Red Crescent have, along with every other sign and symbol of healthcare – a nurse’s uniform, an ambulance, ceased to be signs of protection and have become targets. Images which should protect patients and offer hope to those seeking aid have become liabilities.
Every healthcare facility in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed.
As the number of healthcare workers killed and unlawfully detained continues to rise, Gaza’s healthcare system is on the brink of total collapse. Where international colleagues have sought to support Palestinian colleagues, Israel frequently denies them entry.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented numerous examples of Doctors and Medical Staff denied entry to Gaza by Israel. Each denial of entry contributes to further avoidable death, suffering and medical complications of civilians injured by Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Beyond the direct attacks on healthcare workers and infrastructure, Israel’s blockade of all food and medical essentials from Gaza is causing unnecessary suffering and death, including 244,000 people, more than a quarter of a million people, facing “catastrophic” levels of starvation. While tonne upon tonne of food assistance sits in trucks and warehouses, civilians are starving to death.
Patients risk serious infections before or after operations, as supplies are insufficient for basic infection control. It has ceased to be remarkable to hear tales of surgery undertaken without anaesthetic.
Vast amounts of medical devices, including orthopaedic implants and assistive devices, such as crutches, languish in warehouses. Often, the IDF classes them as being “dual-use”, potentially useful as terrorist supplies and casts them out into the desert as rubbish. These supplies include items essential for life-saving and life-changing healthcare interventions.
The destruction and obstruction of healthcare and basic assistance affect every category of healthcare. From nursing care for blast injuries and horrific burns, to surgery for limbs pulled apart; from cancer treatments, to desperately needed mental health care; from treatment for acute malnutrition, to basic services or assistive devices for people with disabilities. The list is endless. No aspect of life is untouched, no aspect of healthcare has been spared.
As a nation, we know that collective trauma from colonial mass-murder and state-enabled famine is real and long-lasting. This trauma is being inflicted upon the
entire population of Gaza. It will have far-reaching psychological impacts for generations.
As the only Western European nation to have recent experience as a Colonial Possession, Ireland trades on a reputation for speaking up for the oppressed. Recognising the State of Palestine as Sovereign and Independent was a symbolic act of solidarity. We need to back this symbolism with actions.
This week in Leinster House, the Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine addressed assembled TDs and Senators in Leinster House. The group spoke of how no aspect of healthcare has been left untouched by the Israeli assault, and they outlined what the Irish Government could do to help end the suffering.
They suggested some measures we could implement to respond to these ongoing atrocities:
Until we implement these measures and send a clear signal to Israel, the USA and our European partners that we will not stand idly by, we risk being accused of hypocrisy and paying lip service to the ideals which we all hold so dear.
Nessa Cosgrove is a Labour senator and spokesperson on Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, as well as Workers’ Rights.
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