Doctors Against Genocide (DAG) has called for the US to halt aid to Israel after their colleagues were detained last month by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
DAG, a global coalition of health care workers, mobilized more than 50 medical professionals on Capitol Hill to advocate for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was detained by Israeli forces along with others during a Dec. 27 raid on the health facility.
The delegation visited members of the House of Representatives and Senate on Wednesday to advocate for urgent congressional action on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"We're here to bring to the attention of the Senate and House of Representatives about the genocide that is occurring in Gaza, especially north Gaza, and in particular the targeting by the Israeli military of all the hospitals in Gaza, particularly Kamal Adwan Hospital, which has been destroyed, and most of the hospitals have been destroyed," Omar Scott Antar told Anadolu.
Antar, who is also a co-founder of the Connecticut Palestine Alliance, said the destruction of the health care system in Gaza is "just one part of the systematic ethnic cleansing and genocide" of the Palestinians of Gaza.
- 'RESPONSIBILITY IS ON US'
"It must be halted now, and the United States has the power to halt it with one phone call from either President (Joe) Biden or future President (Donald) Trump, to halt all military aid to Israel," he said, adding the responsibility is on the US.
Asked whether he is hopeful that there will be a change in the Gaza policy with the new Trump administration, Antar said it depends on the "whims" of President-elect Trump.
"If President Trump finds that the war affects him personally, affects his political standing, he will stop the war. But if the war continues without affecting his political standing, it will become worse," he added.
Desmond Kaplan, a psychiatrist working in Baltimore, said he is "deeply distressed" over what has been going on in Gaza, which is "unacceptable."
"I'm very concerned that, as an American, that America is supplying arms for a war that is unjustified, that the war in Gaza needs to end, and we need to stop the killing of children and the elderly and the destruction of schools and hospitals and places of worship. We need to negotiate with the Palestinians," Kaplan told Anadolu.
He also called for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine to end the conflict.
Steve Berman said he is a member of Doctors Against Genocide who is "very concerned" about the crisis in Gaza, the forced detentions of doctors and the deliberate murder of innocent civilians.
"This should never have happened, and if you can, please stop. Not if you can. I know you can. But please stop the support of the Israeli government because they're killing innocent people," Berman, a retired cardiologist, told Anadolu.
The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed almost 46,000 people, mostly women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
