“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 […]
As vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 expand and intensify worldwide, we are witnessing clear systemic discrimination and inequity around who receives life-saving vaccines and who does not. Such vaccine inequity is particularly disturbing in the Israeli/Palestinian context, where Israel, the occupying power, has ignored its responsibilities under international law to provide for the health of the […]
Introduction Around the world, the principle of medical neutrality – that doctors first and foremost have duties to their patients in accordance with medical ethics and without interference, is under attack. For decades, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has documented how health professionals in a range of situations face pressure from powerful authorities to violate […]
For Immediate Release Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today urgently called on the government of Israel to stop attacking health facilities, ambulances, and health personnel in Gaza. PHR also said that Hamas and other armed groups must fully respect and protect the neutral operation of medical personnel and patients’ safety by ensuring that no military […]
