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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
Background The Israeli government has publicly expressed genocidal intent and conducted systematic attacks on civilians of Gaza and wider Palestine on a backdrop of illegal occupation and apartheid systems perpetrated over decades. Tens of thousands of Palestinian women, men and children have been killed and over 2-million people forcefully displaced and starved. The humanitarian catastrophe has been compounded by systematic destruction of healthcare facilities, schools, and places of worship. Dehumanisation and censorship are on the rise. Methods/Results We conducted an online survey between 10th November and 5th December 2023 to assess UK healthcare professionals (HCPs) and students’ experiences of censorship, Islamophobia and their well-being following the attacks on Palestinian civilians. Of the 651 respondents, >90% felt it was very important for them to be able to express their legitimate concerns regarding the genocide in Gaza, but 93% felt censored. Overall, 69% experienced Islamophobia (including verbal and physical abuse); a 37% increase between October and December 2023. Well-being was adversely impacted in 97%; only 12% felt their institution had offered culturally sensitive support. Conclusions The wholesale assault on Gaza and wider occupied Palestine has had a significant adverse impact on HCPs and students’ legitimate freedom of expression to highlight humanitarian concerns. Censorship is widespread, well-being has been severely impacted and Islamophobia is common and rising. Urgent action is needed to tackle these intersecting issues to prevent further catastrophic consequences.
Author(s): Khanji MY, Green N, Khan N, Imtiaz-Umer S, Rahman MEF, Hopkins P, Younis T, Kader Y
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Medicine, Conflict and Survival
Year: 2025
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 22/09/2025
Acceptance date: 12/09/2025
Date deposited: 03/10/2025
ISSN (print): 1362-3699
ISSN (electronic): 1743-9396
Publisher: Routledge
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13623699.2025.2561529
DOI: 10.1080/13623699.2025.2561529
Data Access Statement: Data set: See Tables 1 and Figure 1. Other information can be made available following reasonable request to the corresponding author.
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