WHO CHIEF CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON HOSPITALS IN ISRAEL AND IRAN

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has condemned recent attacks on health facilities and personnel amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, warning that such strikes are endangering access to essential health care.
In a statement posted Thursday on X (formerly Twitter), Dr. Tedros urged both nations to uphold international humanitarian law and protect medical infrastructure and workers.
“Health facilities and health workers must be protected at all times. Attacks on them are unacceptable,” he wrote.
According to Tedros, an Iranian missile strike early Thursday injured dozens of patients at Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, southern Israel. Several of the injured were reportedly in critical condition.
He also cited Israeli airstrikes earlier in the week that struck targets in Iran. The attacks reportedly killed three members of the Iranian Red Crescent Society and damaged the intensive care unit of a hospital in the western city of Kermanshah, injuring approximately 15 medical staff and patients.
“The escalation of hostilities is placing health care services on both sides at risk,” Tedros warned. The WHO has called for an independent assessment of the incidents and reiterated the need for protecting medical neutrality in conflict zones.