On 22 July 2014, one of the world’s leading medical journals, The Lancet, published a letter entitled An open letter for the people in Gaza. The authors were Dr. Paula Manduca, Professor Sir Iain Chalmers, Dr. Derek Summerfield, Dr. Mads Gilbert, and Dr. Swee Ang, on behalf of 24 signatories.

There were two unusual features about the letter: first, its length (around 1,500 words) was six times the maximum 250 word limit; second, the journal invited readers to support the letter online. Less surprising was that the Lancet was once again being used to disseminate politicised comment about Israel, and that the comment was profoundly hostile, and unbalanced.

The authors acknowledge the ongoing Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket attacks on Israel only to dismiss them, challenging ‘the perversity of a propaganda that justifies the creation of an emergency to masquerade a massacre.’ They declare that this aggression is ‘a ruthless assault of unlimited duration, extent, and intensity,’ an onslaught on civilians ‘under the guise of punishing terrorists’ and that the dead are mainly innocents, especially women and children. They present Hamas as a political party which Israel is trying to eradicate, along with resistance to the (Israeli – imposed) occupation and siege. They even urge people of Gaza to ‘reject a temporary truce.’ The authors accuse Israel of trying to destroy Palestinian unity ‘under the pretext of eliminating terrorism’ and allege that targeting of civilians (including children) is deliberate. They claim there is an ongoing massacre involving the use of ‘weaponry known to cause long-term damages on health’ and they also hint darkly about the ‘use of gas.’

Read the letter in full at Fathom Journal.