Early morning on Saturday 7th October 2023, a devastating series of coordinated attacks unfolded in Israel. Hamas breached the Gazan border with Israel and infiltrated civilian communities in southern Israel. They broke into family homes in order to violently and deliberately murder, torture, rape, and kidnap innocent Israeli civilians.

Since this day, over 200 innocent civilians – including children, women and the elderly – have been held captive in the Gaza Strip by Hamas. Many of these innocent civilians have preexisting medical conditions, and are being held hostage without access to the medications and professional attention they need.

We, the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, implore the world to recognize this medical emergency and the inhumane conditions that these hostages are being subjected to. It is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe, and requires immediate attention. We demand that humanitarian medical aid be provided immediately to the Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza Strip.
We call on all doctors, medical professionals, and healthcare institutions around the world to join us in demanding the following:

1. The immediate provision of life-saving medical treatment for all Israeli hostages, as set out by international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention. These innocent civilians are in dire need of medical care, and their right to healthcare, as recognized by international human rights laws, must be met immediately.
2. Prompt access to essential medical supplies, medications, and professional attention for individuals with life-threatening conditions. Just two individuals currently held captive in the Gaza Strip are an elderly woman with Parkinson's disease and a man with multiple sclerosis, both of whom have been left without medication for more than 2 weeks now. The denial of these basic medical necessities constitutes a severe violation of their rights and is unacceptable.
3. The provision of food, clean water, and fundamental necessities to all hostages, as is their inalienable right according to international humanitarian and human rights laws. The inhumane conditions they are currently being subjected to are intolerable and must change immediately.

Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, on behalf of the entire medical community, stresses the urgency of this situation. These innocent civilians must be rescued from the medical emergency they face, and their dignity and rights must be protected in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other international agreements and humanitarian laws.

Please add your signature to join us in this call for immediate humanitarian medical assistance for the hostages.

                                                                Photo Credit: Jenny Yerushalmi/Ichilov