TORONTO, June 20, 2024 /CNW/ - In collaboration with healthcare workers nationwide, on June 22, 2024, Canadians for Palestine will organize a national die-in across Canada. The national die-in will take place simultaneously in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Doctors and healthcare workers from across the country, adorned in white coats, scrubs, and stethoscopes, will lie down as a symbolic physical representation of Israel's targeted attacks on healthcare workers, facilities, and patients in Gaza. 

The healthcare crisis in Gaza has reached catastrophic proportions, with no hospitals left operational. Despite staunch international condemnation, Israeli forces invaded and attacked Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians are sheltering. Following the forced closure of the Al-Najjar and Kuwaiti hospitals due to ongoing hostilities, the World Health Organization reports the last functioning hospital in Rafah ceased operations as of May 30. With little to no healthcare services available, millions of innocent lives, including children, are at grave risk. This is an egregious violation of human rights, and Canadian healthcare workers are committed to advocating for justice through peaceful protest.

Additionally, work conditions for healthcare workers in Gaza have gone from bad to worse. The World Health organization logged 935 Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza since October 7th, 2023. Nearly 800 healthcare personnel have been attacked by Israel's ruthless, indiscriminate attacks across the strip. Healthcare workers who are still standing are left offering the most basic care, within destroyed infrastructure, with little to no medical equipment, and under the constant threat of attacks. Many workers have evacuated hospitals and clinics out of fear, following raids on the Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Shifa Hospital, where mass graves containing hundreds of bodies were discovered, many of whom were healthcare workers. Dr. Rima Sadiq, 29, who worked at the Kuwaiti Hospital until its closure recounts, "The bombing is relentless. With every attack, we receive at least 10 patients with varying degrees of injuries. All require immediate treatment and follow-up, and the presence of a nearby hospital is crucial in saving lives...The Israeli army spares no one, including medical personnel. We are all at risk of being targeted or arrested."

Healthcare workers across Canada refuse to be silent as Israel deliberately and repeatedly attacks Gaza's healthcare personnel and health infrastructure. We echo Dr. Hanbali's position when he says, "The targeting of healthcare, especially the spectacle of its destruction, is aimed to send a message that nowhere is safe, not even healthcare, which is granted special protections under international law."

As healthcare workers, we are uniting to demand an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as:

• An end to the deliberate targeting of healthcare workers, patients and medical infrastructure,
• An end to the siege on Gaza and the occupation of Palestine,
• Reopen all border crossings immediately, allowing for unimpeded flow of life sustaining humanitarian aid and medical personnel in and out of Gaza.
• The upholding of the rights of healthcare workers everywhere to freely advocate for Palestinian health and human rights without fear of censure.

WHERE: WHEN: Saturday, June 22nd, 2024

Calgary
TIME: 2:00PM MDT
LOCATION: STEPHEN AVE., B/W 2ST. SW & 3ST. SW

Montreal
TIME: 4:00PM EDT
LOCATION: McGill Encampment (McGill University near McLennan Library building)
CONTINGENCY LOCATION: Downtown Montreal

Ottawa
TIME: 2:00PM EDT
LOCATION: Parliament Hill 
CONTINGENCY LOCATION: OttawaU Encampment (University of Ottawa's Tabaret Lawn)

Toronto
TIME: 2:00PM EDT
LOCATION: Nathan Phillips Square
CONTINGENCY LOCATION: Queen's Park

Vancouver
TIME: 2:00PM PDT
LOCATION: Vancouver City Hall

Canadians For Palestine, is the largest grassroots Palestinian advocacy organization based in Canada. It is dedicated to raising awareness and promoting the rights of the besieged Palestinian peoples of Gaza, and all occupied Palestinian territories. The organization's mission is to educate, inform, and mobilize individuals and communities to support the Palestinian struggle for recognition and sovereignty. It includes over 5 vital sectors including educational, legal, grassroots, media, political, and research, and has attracted over 7000 professionals of all backgrounds to advocate with it under a unified strategy for Palestine Through peaceful advocacy, Canadians For Palestine aims to amplify the voices of Palestinians by standing for justice, equity, and human rights that transcend borders and are not limited by nationality, religion, ethnicity, or bodies.

SOURCE Canadians for Palestine