Nepal: Doctors protest outside Israeli Embassy, express solidarity with besieged healthcare workers in Gaza

Kathmandu [Nepal], March 29 (ANI): Nearly a dozen doctors on Friday held demonstration in front of the Israeli Embassy expressing solidarity with besieged healthcare workers Gaza.

Doctors from Nepal’s largest government hospital, the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) held a peaceful march from the hospital to the Israeli Embassy, holding placards and banners calling on Israel to stop the ongoing operation in the Palestinian area.

The demonstrating doctors held the placards reading, "Stop the Genocide", "Save Gaza Hospitals", "Bombing ambulances is not self-defense", "Stop the conflict between Israel and Palestine" amongst others.

"We organized this protest to condemn the atrocities of Israeli government against people of Palestine especially the health-care workers, numerous of them have been killed in this conflict. We wanted to convey that it is despicable, inhumane treatment of all Palestinians for several decades, we cannot withstand that, this needs to change and there should be a long-lasting peace in the middle-east and that can only happen once Israel change its behavior," Dr Arun Upreti, one of the demonstrating doctors told ANI.

Nepali doctors and health workers have demanded an immediate ceasefire as more than 500 health workers have been killed in the attack that started on October 7.

"Since October 7 More than 685 medical workers have been killed and thousands injured, and patients have been treated with the worst inhumanity. We also mourn the death of the courageous physician volunteers of Doctors Without Borders who were killed in Gaza while caring the wounded and sick," the protesting doctors under the banner of Physician for Social Responsibility (PSR) stated in a release.

Since October 7 when the war between Israel and Hamas started, more than 31000 people have lost their lives, the majority of them women and children. The healthcare system in Gaza has collapsed as per the accounts shared by the doctors who visited the besieged Palestinian area since the start of the operation by Israel.

The Israeli offensive has displaced nearly 2.3 million people, caused a starvation crisis, flattened most of the enclave, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The conflict in Gaza escalated after Hamas carried out a massive terror attack against Israel on October 7, killing over 1200 people, taking around 250 people hostage and even committing sexual assault against civilians.

In response, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive targeting the Hamas terror units in the Gaza Strip. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the war will continue until Hamas is "destroyed."A case is also underway at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) where South Africa has accused Israel of "committing genocide" in Gaza. The ICJ did not order an ‘immediate ceasefire." However, it did ask Israel to take "every measure possible to avoid genocide" while also ensuring humanitarian aid, Al Jazeera reported.

Israel denies accusations of genocide and has maintained that it is targeting Hamas, not civilians. It has accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields and says it has a right to defend itself. (ANI)