Doctors protest at WMA summit, demand suspension of Israeli Medical Association

During the World Medical Association assembly in Rotterdam, a group of doctors staged a visual protest by hanging stripped scrubs labeled with the names of Palestinian health workers held in Israeli detention. The IMA Out! coalition, which arranged the demonstration, argued that the Israeli Medical Association has breached multiple principles of the WMA’s Code of Medical Ethics by remaining silent as Palestinian hospitals are destroyed and medics are imprisoned.

Participants delivered a petition bearing more than 6,500 signatures from global health workers, urging the WMA to suspend the IMA’s membership. The protest highlighted the case of Dr Hussam Abu Safia, head of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, who has been detained and reportedly tortured. His son, Elyas, addressed the crowd, demanding humane treatment for all detained Palestinian physicians. The event underscored growing calls for the international medical community to act against what activists describe as complicity in war crimes.