U.S. healthcare volunteers in Gaza call for end to U.S. military support for Israel

By richardbrown // 2024-10-08

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Ninety-nine American healthcare workers who volunteered to provide medical aid in Gaza over the past year have published an open letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris detailing the atrocities they witnessed, calling for an end to the United States' military support for Israel. The letter released on Oct. 3 emphasized that the true death toll in Gaza is likely far higher than reported figures. The healthcare workers, who have witnessed the devastation firsthand in Gaza's remaining health centers, estimated the Palestinian casualties to be at least 118,908. "This letter and its appendix present evidence that the human toll in Gaza since October is much higher than is recognized in the U.S.," the letter stated, pointing out that the death toll likely exceeds 5.4 percent of Gaza's population. Official figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry report 41,788 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the start of hostilities on Oct. 7, 2023. However, the ministry only counts deaths if it can recover bodies from hospitals and morgues, omitting those still missing beneath the rubble or otherwise lost. (Related: Gaza faces critical shortages of medicine and supplies amid severe aid blockage.) The healthcare workers assert that nearly everyone in Gaza is suffering from illness, injury, or both, painting a grim picture of the humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory. "With few exceptions, everyone in Gaza is sick, injured, or both. This includes national aid workers, international volunteers, and likely Israeli hostages: Every man, woman and child," the letter read. The volunteers further noted that nearly every child under five they treated had both respiratory and gastrointestinal ailments, and they reported seeing children with injuries that suggested they were being deliberately targeted by Israeli forces. "Every one of us who worked in emergency, intensive care, or surgical settings treated pre-teen children shot in the head or chest regularly," the healthcare workers wrote. "It is impossible that such widespread shooting of young children could be accidental or unknown to the highest Israeli civilian and military authorities." One particularly harrowing account came from Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an orthopedic surgeon, who described the horror he encountered in Gaza: "Gaza was the first time I held a baby’s brains in my hand. The first of many." The healthcare workers further detailed how newborns were dying from conditions created by the Israeli siege and attacks on hospitals. Asma Taha, a pediatric nurse practitioner, said: "Every day, I saw babies die. They had been born healthy, but their malnourished mothers couldn’t breastfeed, and we lacked formula or clean water to feed them, so they starved." The letter also noted that Palestinian healthcare workers were specifically targeted and captured by Israeli forces during raids on hospitals. "Many of these colleagues of ours were taken by Israel during the attacks. They all told us a similar story: in captivity, they were barely fed, continuously abused, and eventually dumped naked on the roadside. Many reported mock executions and other forms of torture."

Major labor unions calling on Biden-Harris administration to "shut off military aid to Israel"

The letter follows a growing movement in the U.S. demanding an end to military aid to Israel. Two months ago, seven major labor unions wrote a letter to Biden ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for the immediate halt of military support. These seven labor unions represent over six million American workers and likely voters. They are the Association of Flight Attendants, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the International Union of Painters, the National Education Association, the Service Employees International Union, the United Auto Workers and the United Electrical Workers. These unions voiced concerns about the ongoing violence in Gaza, the deaths of civilians, and the destruction of essential infrastructure. "Large numbers of Palestinian civilians, many of them children, continue to be killed, reportedly often with U.S.-manufactured bombs. Rising tensions in the region threaten to ensnare even more innocent civilians in a wider war," wrote the unions in the letter. "And the humanitarian crisis deepens by the day, with famine, mass displacement and destruction of basic infrastructure including schools and hospitals. "We have spoken directly to leaders of Palestinian trade unions who told us heart-wrenching stories of the conditions faced by working people in Gaza. The time to act decisively to end this war is now. Stopping U.S. military aid to Israel is the quickest and most sure way to do so, it is what U.S. law demands, and it will show your commitment to securing a lasting peace in the region." "Our unions are hearing the cries of humanity as this vicious war continues," said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. "Working people and our unions are horrified that our tax dollars are financing this ongoing tragedy. We need a ceasefire now, and the best way to secure that is to shut off U.S. military aid to Israel." Watch this first episode of the documentary "Gaza One Year Later," showing the devastation Israel has wrought on the Gaza Strip and its residents. This video is from the channel AllTheWorldsAStage on Brighteon.com.

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Major labor unions calling on Biden-Harris administration to "shut off military aid to Israel"

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