War & Health Concerns
A GLOBAL HEALTH LENS
As a community and global health organization, we are issuing this public health notice about the escalating war in the Middle East. More than ten days into the latest escalation, health systems across the region are under severe strain as injuries, displacement, and attacks on health care increase. National authorities report over 1,300 deaths and around 9,000 injuries in Iran, at least 570 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries in Lebanon, and 15 deaths and more than 2,100 injuries in Israel.
WHO has verified 18 attacks on health care in Iran and 25 in Lebanon in a matter of days, killing health workers and damaging hospitals, clinics, and ambulances. In the occupied Palestinian territory, more than 3,200 attacks or obstructions to health care have been documented since 2023, with hundreds of health workers killed. These attacks violate international humanitarian law and deprive communities of care at the moment they need it most.
Displacement, crowded shelters, unsafe water and sanitation, and environmental hazards are driving rising risks of respiratory and diarrhoeal disease, especially for women and children. Temporary airspace restrictions are also delaying over 50 emergency medical shipments from the WHO’s Dubai hub, affecting more than 1.5 million people in 25 countries.
We call on all parties to protect civilians and health care, ensure unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, and pursue de‑escalation so communities can begin to recover and move toward peace. We invite our communities and partners to join us in learning, speaking out, and supporting health workers and patients throughout the region.
At the local level, we invite individuals and organizations to:
Join or host teach‑ins and trainings on war and public health, using evidence from the WHO and humanitarian agencies.
Contact local, state, and national representatives this week to call for a ceasefire, protection of health care and civilians, and safe corridors for medical aid.
Support trusted medical relief organizations working in Gaza, the West Bank, Iran, Lebanon, and neighboring countries.
Work with us to pass resolutions in unions, faith communities, schools, and local councils affirming that health care must never be a target of war.
Image Credit Perplexity, PHOSBC
