Artists and humanitarian organisations have issued a blistering condemnation of Israel's assault on healthcare in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, calling for urgent international accountability over what they describe as systematic and deliberate attacks on medical life.
In a letter addressed to world leaders, the signatories demand that Israel restore the unimpeded movement of medical personnel and patients across Palestine, including Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
The letter also calls for full and unhindered access for humanitarian supplies and aid workers into Gaza and the West Bank, the immediate release of detained medical and humanitarian staff, and independent investigations into Israel's actions in Gaza, alongside meaningful accountability.
Since Israel's war on Gaza began in October 2023, the enclave's healthcare system has been systematically dismantled, with hospitals, clinics, and ambulances repeatedly targeted.
UN experts have described these attacks as amounting to a "medicide", warning that Israel has effectively weaponised the destruction of healthcare against a besieged civilian population.
Israel has further tightened its stranglehold on humanitarian relief by banning 37 aid organisations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), from operating in Gaza at the start of the new year.
MSF previously warned that "a large portion of people in Gaza will lose access to critical medical care, water, and life-saving support" if the ban is enforced.
The letter is signed by 41 artists, including Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix, actor Mark Ruffalo, and comedian Ilana Glazer, and is set to be presented to political leaders in the UK and European Union during parliamentary meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to The Guardian.
It is also endorsed by doctors and prominent human rights organisations, including B'Tselem, Oxfam, and Human Rights Watch.
The letter opens with the final recorded words of five-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces along with her family while trapped in their car in Gaza on 29 January 2024.
An ambulance from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society sent to rescue Hind was also destroyed in the same incident, killing two paramedics.
Signed by Hind’s mother, Wesam Hamada, and director Kaouther Ben Hania, who directed the Oscar-shortlisted and Golden Globe-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab, the letter states: "The killing of Hind, her family, and her rescuers is not an isolated tragedy, it’s a devastating reflection of the broader truth".
"Israel's systemic attacks on hospitals and unlawful blockade have collapsed Gaza’s healthcare system," it continues.
In May 2025, the World Health Organisation estimated that 94 percent of Gaza's hospitals had been damaged or destroyed during the war. In December, the agency said rebuilding Gaza's medical system would cost at least $7 billion.
"Through its policies and military activities, the government of Israel has deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of Palestinians in Gaza and then denied the very help that could save them," the letter added.
Israel is increasingly being accused of committing genocide in Gaza by leading human rights organisations, genocide scholars, and a UN panel.
Its actions, which have resulted in the killing of more than 70,000 Palestinians, are the subject of proceedings at the International Court of Justice, following a case brought by South Africa in 2023 alleging violations of the Genocide Convention.
Separately, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes.