Amman, Jordan, April 9, 2025 — The International Rescue Committee condemns the killing of two medical staff from our Palestinian partner, Juzoor for Health & Social Development, in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City two days ago. The doctor and nurse were returning from work at an IRC-supported medical point where they were providing essential medical treatment.
Zoe Daniels, IRC's Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory, says,
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families, loved ones, and colleagues of the two Juzoor staff members killed as they returned from providing critical health services. That this attack took place on World Health Day—a day meant to celebrate health workers—underscores the dire conditions medical professionals continue to face in Gaza. Health workers are risking their lives every day to provide care to people living under bombardment and cut off from humanitarian aid.
“Since the conflict began in October 2023, more than 400 aid workers and over 1,000 health workers have been killed in Gaza. Under International Humanitarian Law, humanitarian and medical personnel are protected from attack.”
For over a month, life-saving humanitarian aid has been prevented from entering Gaza. More than 1.8 million people are already food insecure and with medical supplies in short supply, people face the risk of hunger, malnutrition and preventable diseases.
Together with Juzoor, the IRC has been supporting 15 Mobile Health Teams delivering life-saving medical and nutrition services to displaced families sheltering in overcrowded sites across Gaza. These teams have continued their work throughout the conflict, amid mass displacement, a collapsed health system, and now catastrophic shortages of essential supplies.
As the ‘occupying power’ and a party to the conflict, Israel is legally obligated to ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, and to facilitate their unhindered access to life-saving assistance. Humanitarian workers must never be a target and all perpetrators of attacks on aid workers and assistance must be held accountable.
The IRC once again reiterates its call for an immediate restoration of the ceasefire to protect from further loss of life, ensure the release of all remaining hostages, and faciltiiate the conditions necessary to scale up humanitarian assistance across Gaza to those in need.