“What is happening in Gaza is not a war. In war, children who are still learning to walk are not regularly shot in the head. In war, homeless, starving civilians are not enticed into death traps using rice and lentils as bait. In war, two dozen doctors, nurses, paramedics, rescue workers, and firefighters are not killed every week for nearly two years straight.”
Summary of original text: This is an open letter from 152 American healthcare workers who volunteered in Gaza between October 2023 and October 2025, urging President Trump to end U.S. support for Israel’s military operations. The healthcare professionals, who collectively spent over 460 weeks working in Gaza’s hospitals, describe treating children regularly for severe injuries including gunshot wounds to the head and chest, witnessing the impact on hospitals following mass casualties at aid distribution sites where civilians seeking food were shot and bombed, and observing widespread starvation since Israel closed the border to humanitarian aid in March 2025, with virtually everyone now visibly malnourished. They report that Israel has systematically destroyed Gaza’s healthcare system, killing over 1,581 healthcare workers and demolishing all medical schools, yet during their combined time there, they never once observed any Palestinian militant activity in healthcare facilities. The letter calls for an immediate ceasefire, reopening of aid corridors, and an international arms embargo on all parties to the conflict.