ICN calls for peace and additional humanitarian aid on the anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attack

On this, the first anniversary of the horrific 7 October attack on Israel, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) calls again for the release of all remaining hostages and for peace to be restored immediately for the millions of people in the Middle East who live under the shadow of the current terrible conflict.

The pain and the unbearable suffering that resulted from the attack on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent ongoing conflict in the wider region, continues every day and has repercussions for all humankind. We mourn the deaths of innocent civilians including healthcare colleagues and call again for a ceasefire to end all aggression to restore international peace and security in the region.

Nurses have been at the centre of the response to the physical and mental traumas that the continuing war creates, working alongside their healthcare colleagues in often difficult and dangerous conditions.

Rather than a statistic in some report on the numbers displaced, injured or killed, they see the awful consequences that are playing out daily in front of their eyes, and they witness close-up the humanity of each individual they help: every child, every woman and every man.

It is clear from the reports we are hearing from our national nurses’ associations in the region, and the agencies working on the ground that additional humanitarian aid supplies are needed urgently: such supplies must be allowed to reach those in need immediately.

ICN is also deeply concerned that international humanitarian law (IHL) which is designed to protect civilians, nurses, other health care workers and health facilities from attack is being ignored. The normalization of such attacks is unforgivable and must stop at once. Anyone responsible for breaches of IHL must be held to account by the international community.

ICN condemns all violence and reiterates its call for the immediate restoration of peace, the release of the remaining hostages and the start of negotiations, which are the only way to secure a situation in which the rebuilding of the region can commence.

Nurses are peacemakers, and through their commitment to health, they can help to build the conditions that foster peace. But they cannot do it on their own, and they cannot even begin to do so while the current violence and stalemate in negotiations continues. War only brings suffering. It is past time to secure peace and begin the rebuilding and restoration of communities and return to normal life.

The people of the Middle Eastern region deserve the same chances in life that everyone else does. The global community owes them the opportunity to make their best lives, the same as everyone else.