Richard Horton – The Lancet (1)
Gaza Strip. Four days of respite. The release of hostages and prisoners. Finally the arrival of substantial humanitarian aid. A thread of peace and hope. A Lancet editorial highlights the role played by the Director General of the WHO.
Amid claims and counter-claims about war crimes committed in Gaza and Israel, one voice has stood out as a beacon of moral clarity: that of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The day after the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel, acknowledging that the Israeli government would have been right to react, he recommended “taking urgent measures to protect and safeguard civilians, health workers and health facilities.” On October 10, as Israel intensified attacks against Hamas, with widespread killing of civilians, he called for “access to health and humanitarian assistance” and “an end to the hostilities that are causing untold suffering.” Israeli bombing has pushed Gaza’s hospitals to breaking point. On October 13, Tedros wrote: “We implore Israel to reverse its decision to evacuate Al Awda Hospital. And later: “I ask the Israeli government to reverse this decision and avoid a humanitarian tragedy.” Meanwhile, the WHO was bringing medical supplies to Al Arish in Egypt, near the Rafah crossing. Tedros has multiplied his appeals. He cited the lack of access to clean water as a serious risk of epidemics. He stressed the impossibility of implementing the Israeli order to evacuate hospitals – “a death sentence for the sick and wounded”. And he warned all parties that “the only solution is dialogue, understanding, compassion and peace”.
Tedros expressed his growing concerns to the international media. On the New York Times on 16 October deplored the attacks on health facilities in Gaza and Israel. He called for the immediate and safe release of the hostages taken by Hamas. He called on both Hamas and Israel to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. And he once again called on Israel to restore electricity and water supplies. Clearly frustrated by delays in granting access to humanitarian aid, his words took on a sharper tone. October 18: “Every second we wait to provide medical care, we lose lives… We need the violence on all sides to be stopped.” October 19: “Bullets and bombs are not the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian situation.” October 20: “Anger, revenge, war: ingredients that produce only destruction and horror.” On October 21, limited aid supplies entered Gaza: “Given the level of destruction,” Tedros wrote, “this is far from sufficient.” The incessant bombing and increasing killings of civilians have led the WHO to call for “an immediate ceasefire”. Her words, as the world saw, went unheeded. The Israeli government continued to bomb Gaza, claiming that its targets were Hamas military facilities, but realizing that this would result in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. UN personnel were not spared: many UNRWA personnel were killed by Israeli airstrikes. Tedros expressed his indignation: “I am speechless at this tragedy,” he wrote on October 24. He intensified his calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, instead of “the current reality of cease-food, cease-water, cease-fuel, cease-health care imposed on Gazans.” .
I cannot recall a WHO Director General criticizing a Member State with such force. Tedros recalled his own war experiences: “As a child trapped in the shadows of war, I knew its smells, sounds and sights intimately. I feel deep empathy with those who now find themselves in the midst of conflict, feeling their pain as if it were my own.” He has criticized the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. He has repeatedly insisted on the immediate release of the hostages. He reported air strikes near hospitals in Gaza. At times he expressed despair: “We are at a loss for words.” Wish: “In the darkness, hold on to hope.” Exasperation: “We are witnessing the destruction of lives and structures on a horrific scale.” Fury: “Hospitals are not battlefields.” WHO is a technical agency of the United Nations. The organization provides assistance to the ministries of health of 194 member states. WHO convenes experts to establish norms and standards on health and healthcare. And the agency’s governing bodies bring countries together to set priorities in global health. The Director General is the technical and administrative manager of WHO. But Tedros added another dimension to this role. He has been the moral conscience of the healthcare community as we watched Gaza become a children’s cemetery and saw Israeli hostages cruelly held by Hamas. His was a voice of principle, above the tussle of national political interests and compromises. He redefined the idea of ethical leadership.
(1) Offline: The moral clarity of WHO’s Director-Our translation
Ceasefire, Gaza, War, Hamas, Israel, United Nations, WHO, World Health Organization, hostages, Peace, Palestine, Gaza Strip, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, truce