On Sunday, healthcare workers in Chicago held a vigil to mark more than a thousand days of genocide as a way to honour those who have lost their lives and to raise awareness of the ongoing assault on civilians in the besieged enclave.
The event, attended by around 50 people, was held at the Islamic Centre in downtown Chicago and featured speeches by local activists, poets and healthcare workers, as well as a documentary made by doctors who have worked in Gaza . The altar held photos of Palestinian healthcare workers killed by Israel, and on the walls were kites, which have become a symbol of hope and resilience in the Strip.
"The vigil was put on to remind people that the genocide is still ongoing," Rania Salem, a member of the Chicago-based US Palestinian Community Network, told The New Arab . "I wouldn't say that people have forgotten, but people have stopped talking about it."
Organisers of the event marked a thousand days of genocide starting 9 October 2023, when then-Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced a complete siege of Gaza, with no water, food or electricity for the Strip's 2.3 million residents, following the Hamas-led 7 October attack on Israeli military sites and civilian settlements in and around the Gaza envelope.
Since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, most of them civilians. Multiple human rights groups, including in Israel, have designated Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide.
Healthcare workers and medical facilities have been hit particularly hard. A 2026 report by ReliefWeb noted that at least 1,722 healthcare workers in Gaza—an average of two per day—had been killed by Israel since October 2023. Attacks on Palestinian healthcare workers have continued after multiple ceasefires have been declared. The United Nations have described Israel’s targeting of healthcare workers as "medicide".
In her speech, Salem spoke about the condition of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian paediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who has been abducted by Israel since December 2024. Over the weekend, his lawyers said that his health had deteriorated significantly and that he was in critical condition. With fresh wounds on his head and barely able to hold himself upright, his attorneys said he was barely recognisable.
"USPCN has been working closely with Healthcare Workers with Palestine in demanding the release of Dr Abu Safiya and pressuring the American Medical Association to use its 'great power of advocacy' to speak up for and advocate for his release," Salem said in her speech at the vigil.
"As required by international law and in accordance with its own medical ethics and principles, the AMA has a moral obligation to advocate for the liberation of Abu Safiya, as well as the liberation and safety of all health professionals kidnapped and held in the Israeli occupation’s jails, where they are tortured, neglected, starved and oftentimes held without trial or charge," she said.
"We organised the event because the genocide isn't over," Gulrana Syed, a Chicago-based physician and a member of Healthcare Workers for Palestine, told TNA . "The idea was to honour people who’ve died and to mourn collectively."