We publish the appeal of our colleagues from Physicians for Human Rights Israel following the Hamas attack in southern Israel**

Dear friends

Harming civilians is a crime against international law, fundamental moral values, and our common humanity.

Saturday’s Hamas assault in southern Israel included the injury, abduction, and murder of uninvolved, unarmed, and defenseless civilians – including men, women, children, and the elderly. Though entitled to special protection from attack, medical facilities and personnel were also targeted. Armed forces took over a medical clinic in Kibbutz Be’eri while the wounded received treatment inside. Their fate remains unknown, and a paramedic held hostage for hours while trying to save lives is still missing.

These attacks are an appalling violation of human rights and deserve to be unequivocally condemned.

Human rights cannot be detached from historical and political reality. It is our human obligation to contextualize yesterday’s violence. A contextualized understanding of the harm does not justify the offenses, diminish their severity, or devalue the lives of those murdered. On the contrary – such understanding is crucial to our wounded, life-affirming society.

These events can only be understood within the context of a brutal 15-year siege on two million Gazan residents, half of whom are children and most of whom are refugees or the children and grandchildren of refugees. The militants who infiltrated southern Israel yesterday were born into a reality of perpetual humanitarian crisis, air raids, deaths and injuries, and utter lack of hope. Pain breeds pain. The Israeli government’s statements yesterday demonstrate its blindness to the reality it helped create and raise serious concern for what’s to come in the Gaza Strip in the days ahead.

Right now, our primary concern is those hanging between life and death. These include infants and elderly persons abducted by Hamas in sheer horror. Given evidence of the inappropriate treatment and humiliation they have already endured, there is serious concern for their safety. Hamas remains responsible for their physical and mental well-being. We must all act for their immediate release.
 
Sincerely,
Dr. (PhD) Guy Shalev,
Executive Director, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI)