The World Health Organization (WHO) has denounced more than 10,000 attacks directed at health centers in various locations. These attacks caused approximately 5,700 deaths and left 8,500 people injured across 29 countries and territories, according to Altaf Musani, WHO's Director of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, during a press conference held in Geneva.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, repeatedly reiterated that health facilities should never be targets of aggression. Musani emphasized that health centers and the entire healthcare system are protected by both international humanitarian law and human rights, being safeguarded by the Geneva Conventions.
However, he expressed regret upon noting that none of the more than 10,000 documented incidents have resulted in legal proceedings. Since the beginning of 2026, the WHO has recorded 914 attacks, resulting in 911 fatalities and 1,486 injuries, with the majority of these events registered in Ukraine, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories.
Other attacks were recorded in Myanmar (formerly Burma), Iran, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), South Sudan, Russia, Syria, and Nigeria. Musani reported that attacks using heavy weapons are the most frequent this year, followed by acts of obstruction to healthcare and psychological violence.
Additionally, at least 44 cases involved the kidnapping, detention, or arrest of health professionals and patients, affecting a total of 148 individuals. Musani detailed that an attack on a hospital generates consequences that go beyond the people present, impacting subsequent patient treatment, ambulance evacuation capacity, professional return to work, and the arrival of medical supplies to other units.
The WHO official also pointed out that all 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip suffered damage before the end of 2025. In Ukraine, the WHO has recorded over 3,000 attacks since the Russian invasion in 2022, including an incident against its own depot in Dnipro, which was destroyed the previous week. Regarding the DRCongo, Musani mentioned that there have been 12 attacks on health centers since the start of the Ebola outbreak in May.