Melbourne nurses and midwives will gather in the city today to peacefully protest against the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the targeted attacks on healthcare workers and hospitals.
The dedicated group has been turning up every Sunday for more than 18 months, pleading for westerners to pay attention to a war that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in the latest sustained eruption of a decades-long conflict with Israel.
For Melbourne healthcare workers, it’s about people not politics and they feel duty bound to stand in solidarity with colleagues risking their lives to care for the two million people facing starvation and disease in the stricken region.
Nurse practitioner Matiu Bush has been leading the local protests, which start at 12pm at the State Library, and said they had faced fierce opposition for their pro-Palestine stance.
“We’ve been referred to AHPRA, we’ve had death threats, we’ve been doxed, we’ve been stalked at our workplaces,” he said.
“But we keep holding our grace, being lawful, being non-violent, and being really clear about our message, which is to care for human rights above anything else.”
In a strong statement of support last week, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation condemned Israel’s actions and called for the Australian Government to push for immediate, unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza.
The ANMF said the ongoing blockade of food, water, fuel and medical supplies into Gaza was a gross violation of international humanitarian law.
“As nurses and midwives, our ethical obligation is to advocate for life, health, dignity, and human rights,” the ANMF said.
“Israeli authorities continue to block the entry of humanitarian aid, threatening mass starvation and denying access to vital medical care. The entire population of Gaza – 2.1 million people – is experiencing severe and prolonged food shortages.
“Tens of thousands – including medics, aid workers, and civilians – have been killed. Gaza’s healthcare system has been decimated, leaving health professionals unable to provide lifesaving care under unimaginable conditions.”
A British-Australian doctor who has done two tours of Gaza spoke to the crowd at last week’s protest and urged people not to lose hope, despite the severity of the public health crisis.
Dr Mohammed Mustafa – a Palestinian refugee – is determined to get an Australian field hospital into Gaza and has so far raised almost $200,000.
“Once we get an Australian hospital in Gaza, we’ll get Australian cameras in Gaza and then we can start telling the story of those people to a western audience. We can humanise those children,” he said. “This isn’t a pro-Palestinian movement. It’s a pro-humanity movement.”
Dr Mo, as he is known on social media, was in Gaza when the latest ceasefire ended and spoke of working in a hospital as the area was under attack from air strikes.
“There’s children being pulled out from under the rubble, people with their limbs missing, children burnt alive in their tents,” he said.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you started to lose hope, but if the people in Gaza haven’t lost hope, then we’re not allowed to lose hope either.
“We will be marching for Palestine every week and we will keep fighting for all of them every day.”
A group of Australian and New Zealand doctors have joined the plea for action, issuing an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the protection of healthcare workers and hospitals.
The ANZDFP group – Australian and New Zealand Doctors for Palestine – said that 1400 healthcare workers had been killed and a further 384 were unlawfully detained.
“The international medical community have repeatedly raised concerns about the indiscriminate and disproportionate brutality of Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people,” it said.
“Limited access to clean water, adequate shelter and destruction of sanitary services has compounded the public health crisis, seeing unprecedented increases in infections and vaccine-preventable deaths.
“As Australian medical doctors, we are bound by our ethical obligation to protect life and are unequivocal in our stance: no population should be denied access to healthcare, humanitarian aid, or the means to survive.”
So far, more than 900 doctors have signed the open letter.
The protesting ANMF nurse and midwives will be outside the State Library at 12pm every Sunday until there is a lasting ceasefire.
Fundraiser by Mohammed Mustafa : Dr Mo’s Mission: Healing Gaza’s Children
ANMF statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Israel-Hamas War | Explanation, Summary, Ceasefire, Casualties, & Map | Britannica
