August 1, 2025
The O’Neill Institute issued the following statement from co-faculty directors, Professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin and Professor Lawrence O. Gostin, in response to the widespread starvation and malnutrition in Gaza.
The unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza represents a major violation of international law, human rights, and core ethical values. Sustained restrictions on access to food, water, and health care, together with the near-complete environmental destruction in Gaza, can not be justified based on international law, humanitarian principles, and bioethical values.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Alert, “two out of the three famine thresholds have now been breached in parts of the territory.” Mass, preventable deaths have resulted and most acutely among innocent children. This is called “child wasting,” where disease spreads because nutrition is not available.
The attacks on health, combined with catastrophic levels of food insecurity, violate the human rights to health and to life, along with severe violations of the Geneva Conventions. One in three people are now going without food for days at a time. As a health matter, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, reminds us that this tragedy is “man-made, and that’s very clear.”
Health care, which must remain a neutral and fully protected domain, has been systematically undermined. Hospitals and clinics are meant to be sacred spaces devoted to healing the wounded, sick, and vulnerable. They exist to save lives. Yet ambulances, hospitals, and relief workers are being targeted, denied protection, or forced to abandon patients in need. Hospitals must never be militarized, weaponized, or attacked.
Measures that deprive the people of Gaza of essential services are clear and unacceptable violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which requires the protection of civilians in times of war. In 2023, we warned that adherence to humanitarian norms is paramount, especially in wartime. Today, we reiterate that call:
- Immediate and unhindered humanitarian access must be guaranteed, including food, water, and medical supplies
- Health care and humanitarian workers and facilities must be fully protected
- Blockades and deprivation of basic life necessities must cease immediately
- The International Criminal Court should continue its work in holding political and military leaders to account for war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from attacks on health
As bioethicists and health law scholars, we believe promoting, protecting, and advancing health is critical in these times. We embrace these standards as core to our mission and values. To achieve this, international institutions, governments, and civil society must join together to act swiftly and decisively to prevent further starvation, disease, suffering, and death in Gaza.