Medicine Under Siege: Dr. Tarek Loubani on Gaza, Resistance, and Refusing Silence

Medicine Under Siege: Dr. Tarek Loubani on Gaza, Resistance, and Refusing Silence

In this episode of Habibti Please, Nashwa sits down with Dr. Tarek Loubani—emergency physician, humanitarian, and founder of the Glia Project—to talk about the politics of medicine in Palestine, and what it means to be a healthcare worker under siege.

Drawing from his over 15 years of medical work in Gaza, Tarek shares harrowing, deeply personal stories of treating patients in war zones, responding to mass casualty events, and witnessing the deliberate destruction of Palestine’s healthcare infrastructure. From the starvation of children to the maiming of protesters, this conversation offers a sobering look into the conditions Palestinians face daily—and the impossible choices doctors like him must make.

We also talk about the origins of the Glia Project, which produces affordable, open-source medical devices like tourniquets and stethoscopes—designed for use in the Global South and under blockade. For Tarek, creating these tools is not only about saving lives, but about resisting the imperial systems that profit from crisis.

We turn the mirror toward Canada, discussing the coordinated effort to silence healthcare workers speaking out for Palestine. From healthcare worker suspensions and other efforts to silence anti-genocide healthcare professionals, Nashwa and Tarek unpack the dangers of enforced neutrality, and the urgent need for medical professionals and the general public to reject complicity.

This episode is about medicine, yes—but also about ethics, empire, and what it means to stay human in inhumane systems. It is both a grief document and a call to action.

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Suggested Readings & Resources

This section provides some contextual readings and links to explore.

• Glia Project

• How Gaza’s doctors endure the impossible

• 'Appalled' Trudeau calls for inquiry after Canadian doctor wounded in Gaza - The Guardian

• Canadian doctor who works in Gaza makes 3D-printed face shields for COVID-19

• From Canada to Gaza, physician uses 3D printing to make medical face shields

• Tarek Loubani: 3D Printing High-Quality Low-Cost Free Medical Hardware

• ‘Shock and grief’ as senior doctor killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza

• People in Gaza 'starve or risk being shot': NGOs urge end to aid work backed by U.S., Israel as deaths rise

• I’m in northern Gaza. I would rather starve than take GHF aid

On the Targeting of Canadian Healthcare Workers:

• Doctor suspended from U of O residency after pro-Palestinian social media posts

• 'Chilling effect': People expressing pro-Palestinian views censured, suspended from work and school

• ‘Abuse of power’: Hospitals, med schools crack down on Palestine advocacy

• Protect medical trainees from anti-Palestine bigotry in medical placement process!

• A List Of Some People In Canada Fired For Pro-Palestine Views

• OPINION: Ontario Nurses’ Association Must Speak Out Against Gaza Atrocities

Humanitarian & Community Aid:

• Islamic Relief Canada – Palestine Emergency Appeal

• Humanity Auxilium

• Palestinian Youth Movement

• Palestinian Youth Movement – Popular Cradle Podcast

• Support the Glia Project: Donate or amplify their open-source medical tools: glia.org

• Donate to frontline organizations: Support trusted orgs like Islamic Relief Canada, Doctors Without Borders and Humanity Auxilium

• Organize within your profession: If you're a healthcare worker, speak out, form collectives, and protect each other from institutional repression. Check out Health workers Alliance for Palestine

• Stay loud: Refuse silence in your classrooms, hospitals, unions, and friend groups. Silence is complicity. Check out Labour for Palestine

• Educate yourself: Study the roots of this genocide—settler colonialism, white supremacy, and global capitalism. Check out The Anti-Empire Project
  
  

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You can follow Tarek here and check out his site here. Subscribe to Habibti Please on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Substack to keep up with future episodes, resistance reading lists, and conversations from the frontlines of feminist, abolitionist, and anti-colonial struggles.

Production Credits:

Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan

Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica

Production by Andre Goulet

Social Media & Support:

Follow us on Twitter @habibtiplease

Support us on Patreon

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Editing Support by Nabeela Jivraj and Kalden Dhatsenpa

Closing Song: Dana Salah - Ya Tal3een (full version) يا طالعين