The recent military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah is resulting in widespread and mounting harms to civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, health workers, patients, and the broader health system. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) joins the deans of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut (AUB) to call for immediate […]
As the Middle East faces escalating regional conflict on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) urgently calls on all parties to adhere to international law and protect civilians from harm. The attack by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups on Israel killed 1,139 people […]
More than 1000 attacks have now been recorded on health workers, patients, hospitals, and other medical infrastructure in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) since October 7, 2023, more reported attacks on health care than any other conflict over a 10-month period on record, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today. PHR calls for independent investigations […]
“If any of you worry about the issues that are going on in the world as you listen to the news every day and you feel somewhat powerless because the problems, the fractures, are too large and too many, I think you and I can take comfort that PHR is playing its part everywhere in […]
April 16, 2024
Asylum, Attacks on Health Care, Death Investigations, Excessive Force, Mass Atrocities, Reproductive Justice, Sexual Violence, Torture
The 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva concluded last week. Headed by PHR’s Executive Director Sam Zarifi, JD, LLM, the PHR delegation included Christian De Vos, JD, PhD, director of research and investigations, and Uliana Poltavets, Ukraine emergency response coordinator. The team presented several interventions before the Council, partnered […]
April 16, 2024
Attacks on Health Care, Mass Atrocities, Sexual Violence
Nearly 1,000 reported attacks on health care workers, facilities, and other infrastructure in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) since October 7 warrant immediate investigations and accountability, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today. The World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations agency, reports 804 attacks on health care in OPT since October 7. Insecurity […]
Today the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts of genocide and take effective action to ensure the provision of “urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” to address the “public health disaster” in Gaza. “Complying with the ICJ’s provisional […]
The horrific attacks on civilians during the war in Israel and Gaza since October 7, including the unprecedented attacks on health care workers and facilities, demand independent verification and accountability, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today. Reports of an imminent deal between Hamas and Israel to release hostages in exchange for prisoners, along with […]
In response to reports by the Palestinian Health Ministry that a strike on Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza City has killed hundreds of civilians, the following quote is attributable to Sam Zarifi, JD, LLM, executive director at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR): “The catastrophic strike on Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital is among the deadliest attacks on […]
Hamas’s brutal attacks on October 7 killed more than 1300 people in Israel. At least 150 civilians were reportedly taken hostage and forcibly transferred to Gaza. Hamas’s deliberate targeting of civilians and the numerous atrocities reported constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Israeli military response has already resulted in the reported deaths […]
