Two healthcare workers killed every day on average during Israel’s genocide in Gaza

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) demands urgent international action as Gaza’s healthcare workers are being systematically targeted.

Following two years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, at least 1,722 healthcare workers have been killed, an average of more than two killed every day. Since Israel broke the temporary ceasefire in March 2025, that toll has risen to an average of three per day.

These devastating statistics – equating to the loss of 70 healthcare professionals per month – confirm the deliberate and systematic targeting of Gaza’s health system. UN experts have called it “medicide”, and an independent UN Commission of Inquiry has concluded it constitutes the crime against humanity of extermination.

Almost every single hospital in Gaza has been attacked. None remain fully functional. The surviving healthcare workers are exhausted, traumatised, malnourished and displaced from their homes. They are struggling to cope with the influx of patients and mass casualties as hospitals continue to be attacked and forced to close. Israel’s ongoing blockade means medical supplies, food and fuel are running dangerously low. More than 300 healthcare workers have been detained by Israel, some have been tortured and many more injured.

Fikr Shalltoot, MAP’s Gaza Director, said: “The world has failed healthcare workers and humanity in Gaza.We are seeing the deliberate annihilation of lifesaving services and medical workers. Behind these numbers are individual doctors, nurses, specialists and paramedics whose roles have never been more vital. These are healthcare workers who refused to abandon their patients in the face of mass bombardment, starvation and displacement, only to be killed while trying to keep others alive, or in homes and shelters with their families. We simply cannot bear this pain and loss any longer – the world needs to act now to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”

Alaa Al-Shurafa, MAP’s Medical Lead for Shifa Hospital, said: “The healthcare workers who remain in Gaza are exhausted and stretched far beyond their limits as they attempt to cope with mass casualties and limited supplies. Our colleagues continue their work in a state of profound psychological distress, physical exhaustion, moral injury and personal insecurity. They are all working in impossible conditions to try and sustain lifesaving care.”

The Israeli military is making it impossible to sustain life in Gaza – deliberately starving the population, forcibly displacing people from their homes again and again, and imposing a suffocating siege that blocks access to the most basic needs. Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 66,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 18,400 children, and injured at least 168,000. The actual death toll is likely higher, with many still trapped beneath the rubble.

MAP’s teams, partners and volunteers in Gaza have witnessed this genocide firsthand over the past two years. The evidence we see every day is overwhelming. In response, our teams have provided lifesaving aid to more than a million people, restored hospital services, expanded neonatal and cancer care, and run mental health and nutrition services – continuing our commitment to Gaza’s health system that long predates the current assault.

Despite these efforts on the ground, the scale and deliberate nature of the Israeli military’s attacks mean that humanitarian action alone cannot stop the ongoing destruction. Urgent international intervention and accountability are now essential.

The UK and other states must uphold their duty under international law to protect healthcare and prevent and stop genocide, including by suspending arms transfers to Israel. What remains of Gaza’s dismantled healthcare system must be protected before it is entirely annihilated, and perpetrators of violations of international law must be held accountable.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Between 7 October 2023 – 5 September 2025, more than 1,722 healthcare workers have been killed in Gaza according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Source: https://www.ochaopt.org/content/reported-impact-snapshot-gaza-strip-1-o…

• This is the equivalent of an average of at least two healthcare workers killed per day over that period (inclusive of 7 October and 5 September).
• Since the end of the temporary ceasefire, which lasted from 19 January to 18 March, the rate of healthcare workers killed is equivalent to three per day (1,060 killed by 18 March, and 1,722 killed by 5 September = 662 killed (inclusive of 18 March and 5 September), equivalent to a rate of 3.85).
• To reach an average of 70 healthcare workers killed per month, this was calculated by dividing 1722 by 24 (the number of months in two years).
• ‘Healthcare worker’ refers to "all people engaged in activities whose primary intent is to enhance health". This definition includes direct patient care providers such as nurses and physicians, and also indirect support staff, such as pharmacy warehouse employees, administrators and ambulance drivers, as long as their actions are aimed at improving health outcomes.
• Source: https://www.who.int/teams/health-workforce/health-workers

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Email: press@map.org.uk Phone: +44 (0) 203 869 1310

About Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for a future where every Palestinian has access to a comprehensive, effective and locally-led system of healthcare, and the full realisation of their rights to health and dignity.

MAP’s local team in Gaza continues to deliver our largest humanitarian response in our history in order to meet critical health and humanitarian needs caused by two years of Israel’s military attacks and siege of Gaza. Last year, MAP provided vital healthcare and humanitarian aid to almost one million Palestinians across Gaza, working with 16 local partners.

For more information please visit: www.map.org.uk