SEPTEMBER 20, 2025

We, the Board of Directors of San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility (SF Bay PSR), in alignment with our previous statement, reaffirm our support for the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and other humanitarian organizations—including Israeli groups B’Tselem, Combatants for Peace, Breaking the Silence, Standing Together, and Peace Now—calling for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and a commitment to a nonviolent, diplomatic resolution that will secure lasting peace and justice for all people in the region.

As health professionals we specifically and strongly support the July 2025 statement by the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), and the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) that states:

Rooted in public health science, humanitarian ethics, and our shared commitment to health as a human right, we express our grave concern over the scale and intensity of the destruction being wrought by the Israeli Defense Forces, creating a virtually complete collapse of the health and social systems in Gaza.

As a network of healthcare professionals, we condemn Israel’s systematic devastation of Gaza and the West Bank and its targeting of medical infrastructure and food systems, leading to starvation, and the killing of health workers and journalists. We stand in unwavering solidarity with healthcare and humanitarian workers operating under unimaginable conditions.

Multiple independent experts, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Israeli scholar of genocide Omer Bartov, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, and Amnesty International, have found that the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide under international law. We echo the global call for accountability and the urgent need to stop further mass atrocities.

This conflict must end now. To this end, we call for strong support for legislative efforts to halt U.S. arms transfers to Israel, where they are being used indiscriminately against Gaza civilians.

We call for independent, international investigations into human rights violations and war crimes committed by all parties—including those committed by Israel and Hamas.

We categorically reject all forms of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab bigotry. War tests our humanity, but it can also compel us to build coalitions grounded in justice and compassion. Our mission remains unchanged: peace, safety, and health for all.

Peace is an imperative of health.