Editorial

This special issue focuses on the conflict between Israel and Gaza. Whilst at the time of writing this editorial we are in the early days of a ceasefire, there is a widely held fear that this will not be the end of the conflict. Similarly, although the horrific events of 7/10/23 were the catalyst for this most recent episode, they were certainly not the beginning of the conflict.

According to Wikipedia (2025), ‘as of 8 January, over 47,000 people − 45,936 Palestinian and 1,706 Israeli – have been reported killed in the Gaza War, as well as 166 journalists and media workers, 120 academics, and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, a number that includes 179 employees of UNWRA. Scholars have estimated 80% of Palestinians killed are civilians, while a study by OCHR, that verified fatalities from three independent sources, found that 70% of Palestinians killed were women and children’. Tragically, research published in the Lancet suggests that the Palestinian death toll could be 55,298–78,525, substantially higher than the official figures reported by the Hamas-run health ministry (Jamaluddine et al., 2025).

In addition to this unimaginable human cost, the war has revealed deep divisions within the global community. Although most Western governments have supported Israel, there has also been extensive pro-Palestinian activism within these countries. These divisions have also been apparent within our profession, causing rifts between patient and clinician, between colleagues and within our professional organisations. Divisions are not uncommon in our work but this conflict, more than any other, seems to lead to such extreme polarisation that we become unable to think together. Thought and speech are shut down by accusations of hatred or prejudice. This journal has experienced such dynamics, both between colleagues and between the journal and its readership. These challenges to thinking and the policing of discourse were one of the factors that led us to conclude that the conf