urgent call for Compassion, Dignity and respect for human rights in Gaza by Public Health Palliative Care International on World Humanitarian Day (August 19, 2025)
The Public Health Palliative Care community around the world is utterly dismayed at the ongoing humanitarian crises happening in and between countries, since the statement on armed conflict which was supported by members of the international community involved in the Public Health Palliative Care conference in Bern, October 2024. In particular, the worsening of the situation in Gaza and the atrocities committed by Israel against the Palestinian people of Gaza reflect a profound absence of compassion, dignity and respect for human life.
The horror of the silent war of forced starvation has been looming over Gaza since the blockade of humanitarian aid that started in October 2023, and intensified in March 2025, worsening malnutrition and famine conditions. Gaza Health Authorities have reported 227 malnutrition-related deaths, including 103 children since October 2023 (1), with 63 fatalities in July alone according to the World Health Organization (2). The toll of Gazan civilians killed while trying to get food continues to grow; with 1,239 killed and over 8,152 injured since 27 May this year. The Government Media Office in Gaza reported that by April 1, 2025, 1,513 humanitarian workers had been killed, of which 1,402 were medical team members and 111 were Civil Defence personnel (3).
Public Health Palliative Care International is committed to addressing urgent global challenges and inequities through compassionate care and support in serious illness, dying and bereavement across all societies and for all people. Public health palliative care pays attention to the political, social and environmental contexts in which people live, become ill and die. This becomes ever more critical in situations of extreme destruction and rights violations. In Gaza, the very concept of compassionate palliative care has become superfluous, where the threshold for palliative care for a substantial proportion of people is being politically determined by brutality and violations of human rights and international law, including the right to health. It is impossible for us to speak of compassion, justice and humanity without acknowledging these horrors.
On this World Humanitarian Day (August 19), we condemn the devastating and unprecedented violence against civilians, and healthcare and humanitarian workers in Gaza. We demand an end to the genocide and starvation, and an end to countries supplying arms to Israel through an immediate arms embargo.
We also recognise the ongoing compassion, dedication and bravery of our health, care and community colleagues in Gaza and commemorate those who have lost their lives while performing their work. Despite the enormous pressures - working through minimal resources, displacement, hunger, the loss of loved ones, and the constant threat of being killed – our colleagues continue to provide healthcare, to hold the hands of the dying, and to console grieving relatives against all odds and personal risks. This enduring compassion found in the depths of chaos and grief should compel us to respond. Compassion requires us to not only bear witness to the events unfolding, but to have the strength and courage to act. We have a moral and a professional obligation to speak out against human-made causes of suffering by advocating for an immediate end to the violence being perpetuated against innocent civilians and for compassion towards all people. Such action is an imperative response from a community whose role it is to promote dignity, care and compassion in living and dying.
We invite all who read this statement to share it on their social media platforms or use it to craft their own messages, helping to exert pressure on governments by amplifying it through newspapers, magazines, and other media outlets.
(1) United Nations. (12, August 2025). Record starvation and malnutrition in Gaza; more West Bank displacement. Retrieved from
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165636
(2) United Nations. (31, July 2025). Gaza Strip: Humanitarians warn of worsening famine conditions, attacks on civilians. Retrieved from
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165548
(3) Anadolu Ajansi. (1, April 2025). Over 1,500 humanitarian workers killed since start of Israel’s war on Gaza: Media Office. Retrieved from
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/over-1-500-humanitarian-workers-killed-since-start-of-israel-s-war-on-gaza-media-office/3524966