International law aims to protect medical personnel and facilities, as well as patients and the wounded in times of armed conflict. It also strictly regulates the conditions under which fighters are allowed to target health infrastructures suspected of being used by certain belligerents.
During the night of Monday, March 16 to Tuesday, March 17, 2026, a Pakistani airstrike hit a detox center in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to Afghan authorities, at least 400 people were killed, and the bombings left hundreds injured.
Pakistan denied intentionally targeting this medical facility. In a statement on the social network X, the Pakistani Ministry of Information and Broadcasting declared that these “precision airstrikes” targeted “military installations of the Afghan Taliban regime used to support terrorist activities,” including “technical support structures and ammunition storage warehouses.”
Worldwide, attacks on healthcare facilities are on the rise. On March 14, 2026, an Israeli airstrike hit a medical center in Lebanon, killing 12 doctors, nurses, and paramedics. This attack brings the number of healthcare professionals killed in the country to 31 on that date.
Since the beginning of March, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded 27 attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon alone, as Israeli strikes in the country and joint American-Israeli operations in Iran have intensified. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the WHO have condemned these aggressions as violations of international law.
What laws protect medical facilities, personnel, and patients during conflict? Do these protections become void if the infrastructures are used as a refuge for fighters?
The principles of the “laws of war” on the protection of hospitals specify detailed rules to protect medical personnel, facilities, patients, and the wounded during armed conflicts.
These rules state that medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics, must be respected and protected in carrying out their duties. Special protections are also in place for ambulances and transportation solely dedicated to medical purposes.
These protections extend to the wounded and sick under their care, including enemy combatants in need of care and no longer participating in hostilities.
Impartial humanitarian organizations must be authorized to provide medical assistance, and consent for their activities cannot be arbitrarily denied.
Medical facilities must display the distinctive protective emblems of the Red Cross, Red Crescent, or Red Crystal. The use of these symbols to cover military operations is prohibited and may constitute a war crime under international law.
Deliberate attacks on personnel or medical facilities displaying these emblems may also amount to a war crime.
(Missing from the translation: details on the origin of these rules, reasons for the increase in attacks on medical facilities, and how to reverse this trend.)
Specialized investigative groups involved in open-source investigations, such as Forensic Architecture, Bellingcat, Mnemonics, and Airwars, play an increasingly important role in preserving satellite images, geolocation data, and videos published on social networks. Independent investigative missions can rely on these elements to establish the facts and contribute to the pursuit of truth, even when states are unwilling or unable to act.
This is crucial as healthcare facilities, meant to save lives during conflict, risk becoming increasingly frequent targets if belligerents are not held accountable.
