University Hospital Cologne cancels Gaza humanitarian event citing political neutrality

An event at the University Hospital Cologne was canceled for neutrality reasons. It now took place at the neighboring university. How neutral was it?

Published: July 24, 2026, 6:49 PM

Destruction in the Gaza Strip after Israeli attacks and catastrophic humanitarian conditions. Photo: Abdel Kareem ap

By Adrian Breitling

That security personnel would be present at one of her events had never happened to Anica Heinlein before. But here, in front of Lecture Hall C at the University of Cologne, three people stood wearing vests with the word "Security" on them. In a few minutes, Heinlein, chair of the Association for Development Policy and Humanitarian Aid (Venro), would speak about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The three security guards outside were there to ensure nothing happened.

Let it be said: At the event this Thursday evening at the University of Cologne, titled "Gaza – Humanitarian Situation and Possibilities of Medical Assistance," the security service did not have to intervene. That the university deployed them nonetheless had a backstory.

Event Canceled by University Hospital

Originally, the event was scheduled for July 2, just a few meters away at the university hospital. The organizer, the Cologne regional group of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), had met there frequently before, and the group's chairman, Uwe Trieschmann, was a senior physician there. But the university hospital canceled the event.

Trieschmann called this a scandal. Not only the cancellation bothered him, but also the university hospital's justification. The hospital explained in response to a taz inquiry:

"The University Hospital Cologne is obligated to political neutrality."

Therefore, IPPNW was not granted permission for the event, and the reservation for the designated room was canceled. What exactly "neutrality" means, the university hospital did not explain upon request.

Helpers Report: Hardly Any Aid Supplies for Gaza

Humanitarian aid in the sense of the Hippocratic Oath is a central task of all physicians, Trieschmann believes. When the approximately 150 listeners had taken their seats in the lecture hall, he addressed this and the backstory only with "a brief word." What was much more important to him was what his subsequent speakers had to say.

• Anica Heinlein (Venro chair) reported on her experiences with NGOs trying to bring aid supplies, including medical material, to Gaza but facing severe obstacles. She described the situation in the Gaza Strip as "the deadliest conflict worldwide for humanitarian personnel."

• Abed Schokry, an engineer from Gaza who knows the situation of humanitarian supply on the ground precisely, emphasized that hardly any aid supplies reach the region. He stated that the Israeli military places almost insurmountable hurdles for aid organizations at the border to Gaza, both physically and administratively. According to Schokry, hospitals in Gaza – if operational – are not sterile places of healing but overcrowded buildings that smell of wounds and infections, untreated because medical supplies are lacking. He also noted "those injuries that no X-ray can capture" – the injuries of the soul.

• Aladin Atalla, an app and AI developer, emphasized that unrestricted aid supply would actually be possible. About 70 of his relatives are in Gaza.

Preventable Deaths

Schokry stressed the importance of humanitarian aid: "It must not be a political pawn." The only thing that would currently help in the Gaza Strip is an unrestricted supply of aid goods.

Middle East Debates

The Israel-Palestine conflict is controversially discussed, especially in left-wing circles. Even within taz, there are sometimes fundamentally different positions on this. In this focus, you will find all comments and debate contributions on the topic "Middle East."

➝ More on the topic of Middle East Debates