Why the BMA’s Gaza motions should matter to UK GPs

GPs and BMA ARM representatives Drs Huda Al-Hadithy and Jonathan Fluxman on why passing motions on Gaza is important to UK doctors

For 21 months, we have watched the death and destruction of Palestinians in Gaza. Educational institutions, places of worship, water and sanitation infrastructure, and healthcare facilities lie in ruins. The Gaza Health Ministry estimates the death toll at 60,000, based on verified hospital deaths, but the true figure is likely far higher.

At the BMA’s Annual Representatives Meeting (ARM) in June, around 500 elected representatives passed landmark motions defending the integrity of global healthcare. They condemned the destruction of Gaza’s health system and the killing of health workers. These are issues centred around profound ethical concerns: protecting patients, preserving medical neutrality, and defending public trust in our profession.

The motions affirmed doctors’ duty to oppose the weaponisation of healthcare, resist exploitation by corporations linked to war, and stand in solidarity with colleagues killed, detained, and tortured. Two things in particular stood out at the ARM: the deeply moving atmosphere during debates, and the overwhelming support – over 80% in favour, with single-digit opposition for all the motions – reflecting members’ outrage at the genocide in Gaza, the destruction of its healthcare system, and the killing of 1,600 Palestinian health workers by the Israeli military.

Gaza’s health system: deliberate destruction

Since 7 October 2023, all 36 hospitals in Gaza have been damaged and most are non-functional. In one of the most egregious attacks, 15 paramedics were murdered in Rafah and buried with their ambulances. Instead of immunity under humanitarian law, clinicians have been direct targets of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

The WHO has confirmed 400+ attacks on healthcare facilities; humanitarian relief is blocked; major surgery is done without anaesthesia; patients die from malnutrition as the population starves. The BMA’s report Medicine Under Attack shows a repeated pattern of violence against healthcare. Doctors on the ground describe young boys presenting with sniper-inflicted genital injuries. Gaza represents the most extreme breach of medical ethics. 

What the BMA ARM passed

Full motions found here

Motion 41 proposed that ‘criticism of the actions of the state of Israel is not per se antisemitic’. This affirmed the right to hold any state accountable for human rights violations. Making an exception for one country is discriminatory and deprives victims of international support and solidarity.

Motion 42 sought to: protect healthcare workers’ and students’ right to speak out on humanitarian crises without fear of sanction; call on medical schools to stop disciplining students advocating for Palestine; and urge support for those facing backlash. It also acknowledged the rise in antisemitism and the need to differentiate it from legitimate criticism of Israel. As Pulse previously reported, HCPs have faced professional complaints over statements on this issue; that’s why supporting doctors, including students, who speak out for humanitarian causes is so important.

Motion 43 reaffirmed that healthcare facilities and personnel are protected under humanitarian law. By extension therefore, it: condemned the killing of over 1,600 healthcare workers; demanded release of detained Palestinian health workers; called for unrestricted humanitarian access; and urged UK government support for ICJ and ICC investigations into war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide including holding accountable medical professionals who participated in or facilitated torture or mistreatment of prisoners. 

Emergency Motion 2 censured the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) and World Medical Association for condemning attacks on Israeli hospitals while remaining silent on Gaza’s healthcare destruction. It suspended engagement with the IMA until it affirms medical neutrality in wartime and condemns attacks on healthcare in Gaza. 

The motions, and the large majorities with which they were passed, were an affirmation of the BMA’s determination to uphold its ethical obligations to defend healthcare and its principled advocacy worldwide.

Why UK GPs should care

Healthcare does not exist in a vacuum. Patients’ health depends on living conditions, food and physical security. Remaining silent about a genocide is not an option, nor is the deliberate targeting of healthcare workers and hospitals. If we do not speak out, we risk normalisation of ethnic cleansing not only in Palestine, but everywhere.

As healthcare professionals, our silence risks contributing to the normalisation of ethnic cleansing, not just in Palestine but globally. Medical neutrality cannot be selectively applied, and the failure to speak out undermines our role as ethical practitioners. For example, the World Medical Association condemned attacks on Israeli hospitals, but remained silent as almost all of Gaza’s healthcare system was systematically destroyed. This kind of selective advocacy erodes the credibility of the medical profession.

Remaining in that vein of credibility, GPs are trusted members of society and we have a responsibility to be our patients’ best advocates. This includes safeguarding the ethical use and security of their data; especially as healthcare systems increasingly rely on digital infrastructure that may be shaped by political and ethical compromises. And closer to home, the consequences of silence are already evident: medical students and doctors in the UK have been suspended or investigated for publicly supporting Palestine, and NHS clinicians may soon find themselves using software developed through ethically questionable partnerships.

This concern is not isolated to a few individuals. It reflects a growing collective voice within the profession. Nearly 1,500 GPs signed a letter calling on the RCGP to take a firmer stance on the health crisis in Gaza, showing that the strength of feeling is both widespread and urgent. RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne had previously written to the foreign secretary expressing her ‘profound concern’ about the impact of the Israel-Gaza war on health services and those providing medical aid. She called the situation ‘nothing short of catastrophic.’ When the leader of our professional college speaks in such stark terms, it signals that this is not niche; it’s a matter of professional ethics relevant to every GP.

What doctors can do

We know that speaking out can be difficult but there is increasing understanding that criticising a country or its policies or the actions of its military do not constitute racial or religious hatred. When there is a genocide and our colleagues are being killed and hospitals destroyed, we cannot stand by and be silent. Please use your voice therefore to speak out for what is right – the right to life. Here are some suggestions of how you can do this: 

1. Discuss these issues in your workplace. Ask your BMA reps how motions are being implemented locally .
2. Defend advocacy. Support students and colleagues speaking out for humanitarian causes.
3. Get connected. Join networks like Health Workers for Palestine, Global Health BDS, or Doctors Against Genocide.
4. Stay consistent. Differentiate antisemitism from legitimate criticism of Israel, and call out anti-Palestinian racism.

The motions clarify where we stand as doctors bound by the Hippocratic Oath. We are a profession rooted in moral conscience and medical ethics for all. The BMA ARM has drawn an ethical red line, and we must abide by it.

As GPs, we are trained to think globally but act locally. The motions passed at ARM, the RCGP’s warning, and the stories from Gaza call on us to use our voices – not as politicians, but as doctors. Silence is complicity. The BMA stands for humanitarian law, human rights in healthcare, and against all forms of prejudice. It is our duty to do the same.

Dr Huda Al-Hadithy is a salaried GP in London and a North West London Divisional Representative at the BMA ARM

Dr Jonathan Fluxman is a retired GP partner in London and a North West London Divisional Representative at the BMA ARM