Medical personnel from Atatürk University Research Hospital participated in a somber march in protest of Israel's military actions against Palestine.

After the attacks began, healthcare workers continued their weekly Saturday march in the city center. Additionally, they demonstrated at the Research Hospital in solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues by reading a proclamation denouncing Israel's years-long systematic occupation and oppression.

The healthcare professionals, who commenced their solemn march inside the hospital in front of the Cardiology Polyclinic, were accompanied by students and members of the public. Following the march, Doctor Kübra Göğebakan issued a press release on behalf of the organization, in which she condemned the October 7 attacks by Israel as tantamount to acts of genocide. Goğebakan asserted that this atrocity against humanity is abhorrent to both societal conscience and the principles of the law of war, irrespective of the motive. She further stated that no justification can be offered for the genocide. We united in opposition to the slaughter carried out by occupying Israel, which was bombed in our presence. In response to the assaults' focus on hospitals, Şimşek stated, "Medicians and other healthcare practitioners are enduring a monumental challenge in delivering treatment in the absence of oxygen, electricity, and medication." The provision of medical supplies is obstructed. Patients, medical professionals, and physicians cannot be targeted. These assaults unequivocally constitute a war crime.

A concerted and organized effort was made to bring about the collapse of the health system.

Doctor Göğebakan asserted that Israel has persisted in its policy of disregarding international law and human life for the past seventy-five years, and that the Israeli administration has deprived the people of Gaza of fundamental human necessities including water, electricity, food, and healthcare. She further stated, "The entire conflict has been characterized by indiscriminate bombings and land operations." Hospitals, schools, and even United Nations shelters were damaged as a result of rule violations; 28,000 individuals perished, and an undetermined number more were buried beneath the debris. Babies perished as a result of oxygen deprivation in the incubators, while numerous patients perished due to the inability to provide nourishment, medication, clean water, and oxygen. Surgical procedures were rendered impossible without the use of electricity or anesthesia. Hospitals were essentially demolished, along with the personnel and patients, into cemeteries. As of now, the situation has become unbearably dire for over thirty hospitals and sixty healthcare centers, resulting in the destruction of dozens of ambulances and the deaths of hundreds of healthcare workers. A significant number of medical professionals and staff, including the director of Şifa Hospital, Muhammed Abu Silmiyye, were detained and prohibited from performing their duties. All of this indicates that the Gazanian healthcare system was systemically, intentionally, and deliberately targeted for destruction.

"We Wanted to Carry Out the Action with White Coats Representing Peace"

Göğebakan asserted their resolute commitment to expressing their disapproval in any way possible. They participated in a silent march donning white coats as a symbolic gesture of peace and declared: "We, as conscientious physicians of the Republic of Turkey, wholeheartedly endorse the heroic resistance efforts of the Palestinian people and urge all nations to adopt a conscientious stance in response. We cordially urge our medical peers to boycott pharmaceutical corporations that overtly aid in the oppression of our compatriots in Gaza, as physicians. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the medical professionals who joined our silent march caravan here and to all of humanity who have spoken out against the oppression in Palestine from many parts of the globe over the past four months. We, as physicians, reiterate ourselves. We shall not accept it as a given, shall not normalize it, shall not allow ourselves to be digested. "As physicians, we will be the ones shouting 'stop' against oppression with patience and determination,"

The program concluded with the dissemination of boycott brochures that detailed Israeli products and corporations that provide support to the oppressive regime, in accordance with the press release.

Directorate of Corporate Communications – February 15, 2024