Letter from the Student Mobilization Unit of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and 33 medical centers in the country to the World Health Organization regarding the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip
Dear Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
Director-General of the World Health Organization
With utmost respect,
We, a group of students from Iran’s medical universities, as future contributors to the global healthcare system and part of the international community advocating for health, present this letter to you with a profound sense of responsibility and deep concern regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Tedros, at a time when hospitals and medical facilities in the Gaza Strip are repeatedly targeted by military attacks, doctors are losing their lives under rubble, children are dying without access to medicine or basic care, and access to healthcare services for millions is severely restricted, what wounds the conscience of the global medical community most deeply is the silence of institutions that should be at the forefront of defending health and human dignity.
We expect you, as the highest authority of the World Health Organization, not only to take a clear stance on this crisis but also to utilize all the capacities of this organization to halt this humanitarian catastrophe.
According to official United Nations reports, including those from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), numerous healthcare facilities in the Gaza Strip have been completely or partially destroyed or rendered inoperative. This situation, coupled with widespread restrictions on the entry of medical supplies and relief teams, has created an unprecedented crisis that threatens the health and lives of millions.
The Israeli regime, by extensively targeting civilians—particularly women and children—and obstructing access to water, food, medicine, and fuel, has in numerous instances acted in contravention of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including Common Article 3 and Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Furthermore, published reports regarding the use of prohibited weapons and the targeting of aid workers and medical facilities violate Security Council resolutions, such as Resolution 1265, and contravene the core principles of the World Health Organization’s Constitution.
Most regrettably, even facilities affiliated with the World Health Organization have not been spared from these attacks, while the organization under your leadership has, thus far, issued limited, non-binding, and insufficiently actionable statements.
As an individual hailing from Ethiopia—a land with a history of resistance against colonialism and the bitter experience of inequity in access to healthcare—you understand the profound meaning of “suffering” and “deprivation of the right to health” more than many global leaders. Today, millions in Gaza endure the same wounds and pain, with the added weight of the world’s gaze upon their suffering, awaiting a response.
We, invoking the moral and legal obligations of the World Health Organization, call for urgent, clear, and actionable measures. To date, the organization has merely expressed general concern regarding the atrocities committed in the health sector in Gaza, without taking any binding or effective action to halt this humanitarian crisis.
We expect the following:
- Explicitly, firmly, and unequivocally condemn the destruction of healthcare facilities and the deaths of health workers in Gaza, and, in collaboration with international judicial bodies, prioritize the legal pursuit of these clear violations of international law.
- Deploy independent international health delegations to Gaza for impartial, on-the-ground assessments and documentation of humanitarian disasters, rather than relying solely on secondary data.
- Issue an international and operational call for the immediate dispatch of medical supplies, medicines, and relief teams, with the World Health Organization assuming responsibility for coordinating and ensuring the safety of these operations.
- Present a comprehensive, field-data-based report on the health situation in Gaza to the United Nations General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and independent media.
- Develop a transparent, actionable, and medium-term plan for the reconstruction of health infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, in collaboration with independent institutions, non-governmental organizations, and medical universities worldwide.
We firmly believe that the World Health Organization, if it so resolves, can rise to its rightful place as a defender of the health of the most oppressed communities. Today, the global public and the conscience of the medical community look to your decisions and actions.
With respect,
A group of students from Iran’s medical universities
Date: August 2025