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Those who wish to see a free Palestine must do their part by boycotting Israeli products and continuing the marches to keep alive the voice of Palestine.
By YASEEN BARDIEN
The University of Cape Town’s School of Public Health hosted a discussion that highlighted the professional and ethical obligations of health workers and journalists as the Zionist regime conducts a genocide in Gaza.
The eminent panel included two Palestinians who were visiting the country at the time, a campaigner for universal health care and a lawyer fighting the battle in courts for human rights dating back to the Apartheid era.
The discussion was held on October 2, 2025, at the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences and organised by Healthcare Workers for Palestine.
The speakers gave detailed accounts of the devastation and destruction facing the Palestinian people and challenged the international community’s response.
Amongst other measures, they called for an intensification of the boycott of Israeli products and of those companies that enable the genocide directly or indirectly.
Dr Mustafa Barghouti, a physician and General Secretary and co-founder of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI).
He accused Israel of committing three war crimes: genocide, collective punishment and ethnic cleansing.
According to Barghouti, more than 70 000 Palestinians have been killed in the last two years, with 20 000 of that total being children. He believes explosives equivalent to eight Hiroshima bombs have been dropped on the territory, either killing or injuring at least 11 percent of the population of Gaza.
‘The suffering in Gaza is not only because of bombardment. Israel also conducted a biological warfare on the people of Gaza,’ declared Barghouti. ‘When you deprive people of clean water, food and shelter it’s the most difficult conditions.’
Barghouti delved into the collapse of healthcare facilities, and how it has worsened existing health problems.
Just over a week ago, Israeli warplanes destroyed a further seven clinics and as well as health centres which focused on non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
He says that 1 723 colleagues, which included doctors, nurses, and other health professionals were killed by Israeli attacks.
He graphically described the horrendous conditions under which patients have to be treated in Gaza.
‘We had many patients who were operated on without anaesthesia. Some, because there was no anaesthetic available or people who were being treated were besieged under bombardment.’
Barghouti accused the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) of being complicit in these war crimes.
He stressed, however, that no matter how challenging the situation was under constant Israeli attacks, the will of the Palestinian people would not be broken.
‘Regardless of what we are suffering from, regardless of all this oppression, nothing will stop us, nothing will break us. And as you [in South Africa] have achieved your freedom, we too will achieve our freedom,’ he said.
He was followed by Al Jazeera correspondent, Youmna el Sayed. She was visibly emotional as she reported first-hand accounts of the atrocities in Gaza. Breaking down at times, she showed overwhelming strength to continue.
‘They’re turning Gaza into a desert, a destroyed desert.’
She said schools and universities have all but been destroyed and that even if the war ends tomorrow, children will have no future as the education system is non-existent. She described the under-staffed and under-resourced hospitals, which forced patients to be discharged prematurely to make space for others.
‘I couldn’t take the images. I heard the screams of the children, the screams of the doctors, witnessed the despair among the doctors when they couldn’t find the medications they needed to treat those vulnerable bodies in front of them,’ she said.
El Sayed also believes that the official number for Palestinians killed is not close to reality as many victims have not been documented.
Despite all this horror and ravage as a result of Israel’s genocidal attacks, El Sayed is firm in her conviction when she says, ‘Together, we can create change. You can get your governments to not normalise genocide; you can get your governments to cut ties and to hold Israel accountable’.
The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, was equally uncompromising in her words towards Israel. She said it was unthinkable that anyone would hesitate to describe what was happening in Gaza right now as a genocide.
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Human rights lawyer, Enver Daniels, touched on the professional and ethical obligations of health workers and journalists.
He expressed his admiration for the courageous journalists and medical personnel in Gaza. Despite the continuous bombardment, they refuse to give up.
‘What we are witnessing from the doctors and the journalists in Gaza are the highest possible ethical and professional standards imaginable.
‘The doctors, even though they’re being bombed go on to care for the ill and wounded. The journalists tell the stories even as they are being bombed and targeted for assassination by the Zionist regime,’ said Daniels.
The panellists were unanimous in their declaration that while Gaza’s suffering was immense, the spirit of the Palestinians remains unbroken.
They urged those who wish to see a free Palestine to do their part by boycotting Israeli products and continuing the marches to keep alive the voice of Palestine.
