Policy Tag: Gaza

Adopted by the 76th WMA General Assembly, Porto, Portugal, October 2025

 

PREAMBLE

The WMA reaffirms the WMA Resolution on the Protection of Healthcare in Israel and Gaza, including the call for immediate and safe release of all hostages.

The World Medical Association (WMA) expresses its profound concern over the attacks on patients, health professionals, medical facilities, and humanitarian aid convoys in Gaza in violations of the Geneva Conventions and applicable international humanitarian law.

Gaza is facing a deepening humanitarian and public health crisis. More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. Medical supplies and intervention are vital to treat the effects of malnutrition.

The opportunities for international organisations and actors providing medical humanitarian aid to operate in the region are limited.

It is imperative that all governments, armed forces, and entities in positions of authority strictly adhere to international humanitarian law, including the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, thereby guaranteeing access to humanitarian aid, and that physicians and other health professionals can safely deliver essential care to all individuals in need, particularly within contexts of armed conflict.

Furthermore, physicians must be afforded unimpeded access to patients, medical infrastructure, essential medicines, and critical equipment and must be provided with comprehensive protection to execute their professional duties without hindrance.

RECOMMENDATIONS

  1. The WMA emphatically calls upon the Government of Israel to:
  • Instantly halt all forms of attacks on healthcare personnel, patients, healthcare facilities, and food and medical aid logistics in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and applicable international humanitarian law.
  • Ensure delivery of humanitarian aid and access to food to all in need.
  • Guarantee respect for the principle of medical neutrality and proceed with the immediate and unconditional release of all health personnel arbitrarily detained.
  • Ensure that health professionals can perform their duties safely, without obstruction or interference.
  • Grant necessary permissions for the unhindered entry and distribution of medical aid and ensure the safe delivery of essential equipment and medicines to healthcare services.
  • Fully honour and adhere to the principles enshrined in the Geneva Conventions and other applicable international humanitarian instruments.
  • Facilitate access for independent investigators and ensure that all individuals responsible for criminal acts are held accountable under international law.
  1. The WMA calls upon its Constituent Members to unequivocally condemn attacks on healthcare personnel and facilities during the ongoing conflict in line with the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
  2. The WMA calls on the World Health Organization (WHO) to undertake a comprehensive study to determine the full extent of the damage caused to health services, physicians, and other health professionals in Gaza and to identify the measures necessary for their full restoration and compensation.
  3. The WMA urges governments to support peace initiatives and constructive frameworks to bring an end to the hostilities in Gaza and the region.

Adopted by the 226th WMA Council session, Seoul, Korea, April 2024
and adopted by the 75th WMA General Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, October 2024

 

PREAMBLE

In response to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza, the WMA is gravely concerned by the deepening healthcare and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the growing starvation and the lack of medical care and deeply concerned about the continued imprisonment and abuse of hostages.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

The WMA Council and its constituent members call for:

  1. A bilateral, negotiated and sustainable ceasefire in order to protect all civilian life, secure the release and safe passage of all hostages and to allow the transfer of humanitarian aid for all those in need.
  2. The immediate and safe release of all hostages.
  3. Pending their release, humanitarian aid and healthcare attention to be provided to the hostages.
  4. All parties to abide by international humanitarian law and the principle of medical neutrality to safeguard the rights and protection of healthcare facilities, healthcare personnel and patients from further threat, interference and attack.
  5. Unimpeded and accelerated humanitarian access throughout all of Gaza, including the entry of humanitarian aid and safe passage of medical personnel. This also includes the evacuation of urgent medical cases to reduce secondary morbidity and mortality, public health risks, and alleviate pressure on hospitals inside Gaza.
  6. The re-establishment of access to healthcare and the creation of a safe working environment for healthcare personnel to work in through the restoration of medical capacity and essential services.
  7. Verified investigations into alleged gross violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law including attacks on healthcare staff and facilities and the misuse of those facilities for military purposes.
  8. The upholding by physicians of the principles in the WMA Declaration of Geneva and other documents that serve as guidance for medical personnel during times of conflict.