The Israeli Society of Pulmonary Medicine called upon the Israeli public to continue to push for the hostages’ safe return home in the wake of World Lung Day.
“On this day, it is our humane duty to remember and remind all - the Israeli hostages and those from other nationalities, in Gaza's long array of war tunnels, where they lack even air – essential and so often taken for granted,” it said in a September 25 statement. “The Israeli Society of Pulmonary Medicine calls upon everyone who values human rights, freedom, and peace to remember our innocent brothers and sisters, men and women, adults and children, who were abducted from their homes or while celebrating life, in the brutal attack by Hamas.”
A fundamental right to breathe freely
“As we cherish and appreciate those dealing with respiratory diseases and value physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, and many more who strive to make our world healthier and safer for everyone—we must also remember and support those who's right to breathe freely was violently taken from them,” the statement said. “We implore the free world to think of them today, as we do every day, and to help us secure their fundamental right to breathe freely.”
The statement concluded: “Please remember our 101 captives in Gaza, those who are surviving and hungry for the basic necessity of life: air, and help us do whatever possible to set them free.”