Free Gaza Medics!

by New Worker correspondent

Pro-Palestinian activists interrupted their seasonal celebrations to join an emergency vigil in London's West End on 28th December against the Israeli military's systematic destruction of hospitals in Gaza. The vigil in Piccadilly Circus was organised by the Health Workers 4 Palestine campaign that was co-founded by a group of doctors in October 2023 to combat the censorship they experienced, when standing up for the rights of Palestinian health workers and the rights of Palestinians to healthcare.
On 27th December Israeli troops raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last major health facility in Northern Gaza, removed all the patients and staff, and set fire to it. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of the hospital, was arrested and is still in Israeli detention.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a statement saying it was is appalled by the raid. "The systematic dismantling of the health system and a siege for over 80 days on North Gaza puts the lives of the 75,000 Palestinians remaining in the area at risk". The statement added that "some people were reportedly stripped and forced to walk toward southern Gaza". The Gaza Ministry of Health says that now all three public hospitals in Northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan, Beit Hanoon and Indonesian hospitals, have been "taken out of service by Israel’s offensive". On 4th January WHO Director-General  chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency had received “no updates on the safety and wellbeing” of Hussam Abu Safia.

Stop the Slaughter! Stop the War!

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades joined tens of thousands of people who marched through the heart of the capital on Saturday 16 December for another weekend of protests, calling for an immediate end to Israel’s assault on Gaza and condemning the Sunak government for again failing to vote in favour of a ceasefire  at the United Nations.
Over a hundred thousand demonstrators took part in the London protest, the sixth since the war began, to send a clear message to the Establishment that the majority of the population want a ceasefire and that the movement in support of the Palestinians is growing in strength. 
Thousands upon thousands of people in London and throughout the country have shown their opposition to the indiscriminate attacks on civilians which have claimed the lives of at least 17,000 Palestinians, including more than 7,000 children. Thousands more are missing presumed dead under the rubble of their own homes.
This has been one of the largest, sustained political campaigns in British history. The determination to keep protesting for an end to the suffering in Gaza is remarkable and the pressure on British politicians who have sided with Israel will not go away. Ben Jamal from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said: “We are witnessing unrelenting horror in Gaza. Palestinians have been bombed, displaced, deprived of food, water, fuel, electricity and health services for 62 days and counting. The amount of destruction has been compared to that of German cities in World War Two, except it’s happened in a far shorter time. The scale of this catastrophe is so great that in a rare move, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, urging the UN Security Council to act.
“A permanent ceasefire must be the starting point to address the underlying causes of the situation, including decades of Israeli military occupation and a system of oppression against the Palestinian people that is considered internationally to meet the legal definition of apartheid. The British government must end its complicity in Israel’s crimes, starting by joining the call for the killing of civilians to stop completely.
“We will continue to march, demonstrate, and organise to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and justice for the Palestinian people”.

Hospital workers stand for Palestine

NHS workers held a moment of silence in memory of their colleagues killed during the brutal Israeli onslaught against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip at a solidarity picket outside St Thomas’ Hospital in central London on Tuesday. Hospital staff and Palestinian solidarity activists called for an urgent and permanent cease-fire to end the slaughter of defenceless civilians that has already claimed the lives of over 11,000 Palestinian Arabs during the Israeli invasion.