Bulletin #108: No peace for Gaza's healthcare after ceasefire deal
This fortnight
“There is no peace and no plan for Gaza,” health workers warn in response to the so-called peace plan announced by US President Donald Trump. In reality, healthcare in both Gaza and the West Bank remains under relentless pressure from the Israeli occupation through the continued targeting of health infrastructure and severe restrictions on the entry of essential supplies.
While some Palestinian health workers, such as Al-Awda Hospital director Dr. Ahmed Muhanna, have finally been released from Israeli prisons, the struggle for Palestinian liberation continues. International health workers have a key role to play in this fight. We spoke with Dr. Hanne Bosselaers, who recently boarded the Conscience, about her experience of being kidnapped and imprisoned by Israeli forces, and the responsibilities of health professionals in the global movement for justice and solidarity with Palestine.
Health systems remain in crisis elsewhere too. In Syria, medicine, medical supplies, and personnel are in critically short supply, pushing the healthcare system to the brink of collapse. In Sudan’s North Darfur, civilians are now consuming cow skin to survive, besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Meanwhile in India, Free Trade Agreements are undermining access to life-saving medicines. In a new video report, the Working Group on Access to Medicines highlights how secretive trade deals, pushed through without public debate, are driving up drug prices and putting millions at risk.
In focus: Health in Palestine
“This is the moment to scale up mobilizations for Palestine,” says doctor from “Conscience”
Dr. Hanne Bosselaers, physician and crew member of the “Conscience,” describes her imprisonment by Israel and her determination to keep fighting for a free Palestine.
“There is no peace and no plan” for Gaza, health workers warn
Palestinian health workers and members of flotilla missions condemn Israel’s ongoing crimes in Gaza and the false promises of Donald Trump’s so-called peace plan.
Dr. Ahmed Muhanna of Gaza’s Al-Awda Hospital released after 665 days of illegal imprisonment
Al-Awda Hospital director Ahmed Muhanna was released after almost two years of illegal imprisonment. Dozens of Palestinian health workers remain captives in Israeli jails.
Gallery: Organ theft in Palestine
Source: Palestinian Youth Movement. Find the whole gallery at @palestinianyouthmovement
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Syria’s healthcare near collapse as shortages, staff losses mount
Collapsing infrastructure, shortages of medicine and supplies, dwindling qualified staff, and the closure of medical facilities are pushing Syria’s healthcare system to the brink.
Civilians in El Fasher, Sudan face “slow, deliberate death under the RSF siege”
After running out of animal fodder, people are now consuming cow skin as a last resort against starvation in North Darfur state’s besieged capital, cut off from all food supply by a 57-km wall the paramilitary has built around the city.
Video
Patents, prices & power: How FTAs threaten affordable medicines in India
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between India and developed countries could have a devastating impact on medicine prices. These deals often demand changes to India’s patent laws—adding new barriers, extending monopolies, and making life-saving drugs unaffordable for millions.