2 Chicago doctors join dozens of others in open letter calling for cease-fire, water rations in Gaza

Two Chicago doctors have signed on to an open letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris calling for an “immediate and permanent cease-fire” in light of what they suspect are violations of international law.

The letter, signed by 45 doctors from across the country, called for a “bare minimum” potable water allocation of 20 liters per person per day, an immediate and permanent cease-fire, and unrestricted access for medical personnel and supplies into Gaza.

“With only marginal exceptions, everyone in Gaza is sick, injured, or both. This includes every international aid worker, every international volunteer, and probably every Israeli hostage,” the letter reads. “We are not politicians. We do not claim to have all the answers. We are simply physicians and nurses who cannot remain silent about what we saw in Gaza.”

Dr. Thaer Ahmad, the director of global health at Advocate Christ Medical Center and an assistant clinical professor at University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine, was one of two Chicago-area doctors who signed on to the letter.

Ahmad served at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis and al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah for 16 days in January as an emergency medicine doctor in Gaza.

In February, he told the Chicago Sun-Times he realized “all aspects of life were disrupted” as soon as he arrived.

“This was not just one humanitarian crisis,” Ahmad said. “It was dozens of public health disasters happening at the same time.”

Dr. John Kahler — a co-founder of MedGlobal, a Rolling Meadows-based nonprofit launched in 2017 that provides medical aid to vulnerable populations around the world — also signed the letter.

Kahler worked for 16 days in January at clinics in Rafah and three weeks in March at Kamal Adwan Hospital and Nutrition Center in Beit Lahia. He told the Sun-Times in February what he saw during his initial trip to Gaza was out of a “post-apocalyptic movie.”

The letter comes on the heels of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Congress this week, where he vowed Israel would achieve "total victory" against Hamas and denounced protesters in the U.S.

In a press briefing Thursday, Harris said she was concerned about the humanitarian crises in Gaza, including widespread famine and the killing of civilians.

“I told [Netanyahu] I will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself,” Harris said. “I also expressed with the Prime Minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the deaths of far too many innocent civilians.”

Contributing: The Associated Press