16/10/2026
Medicide is the term UN experts used last year to describe the systematic destruction of the health system in Gaza. To date, 1,700 healthcare workers have been killed in Gaza during the genocide. Hundreds of others have been detained without charge. According to Healthcare Workers Watch, as of April 2026, 83 healthcare workers remain in Israeli custody, 75 of those are from Gaza, including 14 doctors.It is not only the healthcare staff who are part of this medicide.
Around 90% of Gaza's healthcare infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged.
This has been the result of the deliberate and systematic endeavour of Israel to dismantle Palestinians' capacity to provide care. This destruction has continued since the so-called Ceasefire of October 2025, with the deliberate blockade of essential supplies still in place.
And now, in Gaza, we have the Yellow Line, at first temporary, constantly moving westward, a mechanism of encirclement and ethnic cleansing, pushing Palestinians into unliveable conditions on the remaining 35% of what was once Gaza.
Médecins Sans Frontières has stated that Israel is progressively asphyxiating Gaza.
In the West Bank, the trajectory of Israeli policy is similar in that it deliberately aims to weaken the Palestinian healthcare system through financial strain, obstructions, staff shortages and movement restrictions. Ambulances are stopped at checkpoints and their crews taken. Patients with chronic conditions such as kidney disease and cancer stay at home because the check points make the journey to treatment impossible.
Let us resolve to join the campaign of the Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine to boycott Teva, the largest company in Israel, producing generics and over-the-counter medicines, including Sudocrem. Not only is Teva providing corporate tax revenues to Israel, but the company has actively supported the Israeli military in its “Adopt-a Battalion” programme.
Join us on the Grand Parade at 1 pm on Saturday 17 October 2026.