Petition to the American Medical Association

Subject: Condemnation of Targeted Violence Against Palestinian Healthcare Workers and Recognition of Medical Heroism in Gaza

We, the undersigned physicians and healthcare professionals, write to you as colleagues committed to the ethical foundations of our profession and our shared oath to "do no harm." We urge the American Medical Association to speak out and take meaningful action against the Israeli military’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system and the deliberate targeting of Palestinian medical personnel— who have selflessly risked their lives to save others and uphold the very principles of our field.

The acts listed below represent just some of the deliberate and systematic assaults carried out by the Israeli military against Gaza’s healthcare system:

On March 23, 2025, Israeli forces opened fire on a clearly marked convoy of Palestinian emergency medical personnel near Rafah in southern Gaza killing 15 out of the 16 healthcare workers. The convoy—including ambulances with flashing lights, a UN vehicle, and a Gaza Civil Defence fire truck—was responding to wounded civilians. Video recovered from a mass grave—including final footage recorded by slain paramedic Refat Radwan, who is heard saying, “Forgive me, Mother… this is the path I chose to help people. The army has arrived.”—confirmed that the vehicles were well-lit and clearly identifiable.

The 15 unarmed healthcare workers were killed without warning, their bodies dumped alongside their ambulances in a mass grave. Israel first stated that the convoy had approached in darkness without lights, later alleging it had ties to Hamas. However, after video evidence emerged, Israel admitted that its initial claims were false.

In the predawn hours of Sunday, April 13th, 2025, the Israeli army bombed the Anglican-run al-Ahli Arab Hospital (locally known as the Baptist Hospital), destroying the last remaining functioning hospital in Northern Gaza. This follows the earlier destruction of both al-Shifa and Kamal Adwan Hospitals.

These attacks are not isolated incidents. Since October 7, 2023:

More than 1,000 healthcare workers have been killed in Palestinian territories, according to the United Nations and Healthcare Workers Watch, as of January 2025. 

384 medical professionals have been unlawfully detained—339 of them from Gaza as of February 2025 according to Healthcare Workers Watch – Palestine. Detainees have reportedly been subjected to torture, starvation and possible sexual abuse.

670 attacks by the Israeli military on healthcare infrastructure in Gaza, affecting 122 health facilities and 170 ambulances, Hospitals, medical staff, and civilians, according to the World Health Organization, between October 2023 and 14 March 2025.

As of February 2025, only 4 of 22 health centers in Gaza remained partially operational due to Israeli airstrikes, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA)—a figure reported prior to the March destruction of al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

Israel has systematically blocked the entry of medicine, medical equipment, and other essential humanitarian aid into Gaza, exacerbating the collapse of the healthcare system and leaving hospitals unable to treat the wounded, chronically ill, or those requiring urgent care.

These acts—killings, abductions, destruction of medical facilities, torture, and denial of medical aid—are in direct violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, which protect healthcare workers and medical infrastructure during armed conflict.

Despite the severity and scale of these violations, the American Medical Association has remained silent. We, as physicians and healers, urge the AMA to take a principled stand.

We respectfully urge the American Medical Association to stand in solidary with medical professionals and to stay true to its mission of advancing medical practice and protecting public health in:

1.   Publicly condemning the unlawful targeting, imprisonment, torture, and killing of Palestinian healthcare workers.

2.   Acknowledging the systemic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure by Israeli military forces.

3.   Recognizing and honoring the courage and sacrifice of Palestinian healthcare workers who have continued to save lives under bombardment, often performing surgeries on children without anesthesia and treating patients in the ruins of hospitals.

4.   Demanding the immediate release of all detained Palestinian healthcare workers, who are essential to providing care for the sick and injured.

5.   Demanding that Israel immediately cease its attacks on doctors, medical facilities, and the unlawful blockade of vital medical supplies needed to save lives, and to fully adhere to international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, which protect medical personnel and healthcare infrastructure.

Silence in the face of such atrocities is complicity. The AMA must act in solidarity with our colleagues in Gaza who are courageously upholding the highest ideals of the medical profession under extreme and life-threatening conditions, increasingly at the cost of their own lives.