Debris is seen in a room of Gandhi Hospital, during the ongoing joint US-Israeli war on Iran. AP
Data from the WHO’s Surveillance of Attacks on Health Care monitor shows 21 attacks by Israel and the US targeting medical facilities across Iran since the start of the war. At least nine people have been reported killed.
Hospitals and clinics have been hit or damaged by strikes, further straining a health system already under pressure from rising casualties.
The head of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' delegation in Iran said that at least 17 Red Crescent centres have been struck, while nearly 100 ambulances have been damaged or destroyed.
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the start of the war, while at least another 20,000 have been injured.
Attacks on healthcare in war are prohibited under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, which require all parties to protect medical personnel, hospitals, and patients at all times.
Deliberate strikes on healthcare facilities or personnel can constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
An earlier WHO statement on attacks on healthcare facilities in Iran said, "These attacks not only cost lives but deprive communities of care when they need it most. Health workers, patients, and health facilities must always be protected under international humanitarian law."
The WHO warned that these attacks on healthcare facilities could have wider implications for public health in Iran.
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