ISSOP Letter to Decision Makers

Date:

To:

Re: Israel-Gaza conflict

As a pediatrician, committed to the life and well-being of all children, I urge you to do all you can to stop the killing and maiming of children in Gaza and Israel. To date, thousand of innocent children in Israel and Gaza have been killed, and many more injured, both physically and emotionally, and thousands more will die and be injured unless the shelling, rocket attacks and all other forms of violence are stopped—immediately, in both Gaza and Israel.

As a pediatrician and child health professional, no other profession will bear witness to the impact of the violence more so than we—not only death and physical trauma, but children who survive will be forever impacted by the psychological trauma inflicted on them by the involved state and non-state actors.

I understand the complexity of the political situation, as well as the multiple lenses through which different groups of people view the historical contexts of the conflicts in the Middle East. Irrespective of these complexities, the fact remains that killing children violates every moral and ethical construct on which our society is built—and as such, we must stop the carnage. Since the end of World War II, the Declaration of Human Rights, Geneva Conventions, Six Grave Crimes against Children, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children all validate the need to do so.

In addition, I urge you to consider other actions that must happen to prevent and mitigate further harm to children. These are discussed in more detail in a statement of the International Society for Social Pediatrics and Child Health (www.ISSOP.org). (https://issop.org/2023/10/24/issop-statement-on-gaza-israel-conflict-3), of which I am a member. These include:

• Release children and their families held hostage.
• Protect medical facilities within Gaza from bombing and/or tank fire.
• Evacuate injured children to medical facilities that can provide pediatric tertiary and quaternary care—in Israel, Egypt and other centers in the Middle East and Europe. Parents or family members must be allowed to accompany children wherever they are sent for care.
• Ensure food, water, medicine, temporary shelters, hygiene facilities, fuel for medical use and other needed humanitarian resources are supplied immediately. The international community must guarantee humanitarian supplies continue and are used only for humanitarian purposes.
• Establish rehabilitation facilities that can provide specialized comprehensive pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitative care—including prosthetics.
• Provide acute trauma-informed child mental health services and prepare for ongoing care.
• Plan for the reconstruction of schools, clinics, hospitals and other child-focused facilities in Gaza.

Thank-you for your consideration and prompt response. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

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