Top UK trauma medics who have seen Gaza’s ‘systematic devastation’ first-hand demand total ban on arms sales to Israel

23 August 2024, 08:58 | Updated: 23 August 2024, 11:15

A group of doctors and nurses have written an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy to demand an immediate and total ban on arms sales to Israel.

The thirty-strong group of signatories have volunteered in Gaza since October, to provide medical care to Palestinians who have been injured or fallen ill as a result of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Now, the group say they are “well positioned to comment on the massive human toll from Israel’s attack on Gaza”, describing the longterm “systematic destruction” of the country – and its healthcare system.

They have described the situation on the ground in Gaza, saying “with only marginal exceptions, everyone in Gaza is sick, injured, or both.”

In their letter, they say that “it is difficult for many of us to recount the scenes we witnessed in Gaza, not least of all in the knowledge that many of the injuries we treated may have resulted from the use of weapons systems and components supplied from Britain.” 

They describe extensive “malnutrition due to Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war”, adding many are “suffering from water-borne diseases” following the restriction of water.

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Some of them have been direct victims of Israeli airstrikes while residing in medical staffs’ accommodation.

They are calling on the government, saying that a ban on arms sales “is the morally as well as legally right thing to do.”

Days ago, a British Foreign Office official who worked on counter terrorism resigned in protest at arms sales to Israel.

Mark Smith said the UK government “may be complicit in war crimes”.

He wrote to colleagues on Friday, saying he had raised concerns “at every level” in the Foreign Office, including through an official whistle blowing mechanism.

The group of 30 doctors are being supported by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), an not for profit independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians through the law.

The war was sparked by the October 7 invasion of southern Israel by Hamas and other militants that killed about 1,200 people and saw about 250 people taken hostage.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Israel controls access to the Gaza Strip.