There is No Justification for Turning Places of Healing into Places of Death

A hospital is supposed to be safe. It is not a war zone. Yet in conflict areas like Sudan and Gaza, hospitals have become targets. They are bombed, looted, or forced to shut down.

In Old Fangak, Sudan, a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital was bombed. The pharmacy was destroyed. Medical supplies were wiped out. For the community, this meant losing the only place where care and a sense of safety still existed.

In Khartoum, Bashair Teaching Hospital, one of the few still functioning facilities, was also attacked. El Geneina Teaching Hospital was looted. When hospitals close, doctors and nurses are forced to leave, and people are left without care.

The consequences are immediate and severe. Pregnant women go into labor with nowhere safe to deliver. Sick people have no one to treat them. Those who depend on regular medication cannot get more. Losing a hospital does not just mean losing a building. It means losing lives.

In Gaza, medical teams have watched the health system collapse over more than two years. Hospitals are overwhelmed with injured patients. They are running out of fuel, staff, and supplies. They are running out of options.

In August 2025, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis was struck twice. At least 20 people were killed. Dozens were injured, including health workers trying to save others. The maternity and pediatric wards, where babies were born and children treated, had been providing critical care before the attack.

In Gaza City, some medical facilities shut down completely as military operations closed in. Fighting reached hospital surroundings. Staff could no longer work safely. People in urgent need of care were trapped.

By early 2026, the pressure had grown so intense that Médecins Sans Frontières was questioning whether it could even continue operating in Gaza. At the same time, the need for care only kept growing.

The human cost is devastating. Children arrive at hospitals alone, with no surviving family. Medical staff have begun using a shorthand no one should ever need to use: “wounded child, no surviving family.”

Women needing emergency obstetric care find overcrowded wards with little fuel to keep generators running. In some cases, patients were trapped inside hospital buildings during attacks, unable to evacuate or receive proper treatment.

Health workers do not carry weapons. They carry bandages and medicine. They treat anyone who needs help, regardless of who they are or where they come from. They took an oath to save lives, and in these conflicts, they are being killed for honoring it.

When hospitals are destroyed, communities lose their chance to survive and rebuild.

International humanitarian law is clear. Medical facilities and health workers must be protected. They must not be attacked. They must have safe access to supplies. They must be able to work without fear of death. These are basic human protections, yet they are increasingly ignored.

This must not be normalized. Hospitals are neutral ground. They are sanctuaries and must be protected, regardless of sides or politics.

The attacks in Sudan and Gaza show how quickly decency collapses when protection for medical care erodes during war.

There is no justification for turning places of healing into places of death.

Sources:

Sudan – Attacks on Medical Facilities

MSF strongly condemns deliberate bombing of its hospital in Old Fangak, Sudan
https://msfsouthasia.org/all-list-of-post-uncategory/ (search result showing this page listing)

Old Fangak hospital bombing details (Wikipedia overview)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Fangak_bombing

MSF condemns Israel’s strikes on Nasser Hospital in Gaza (example Gaza hospital attack)
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/msf-condemns-israeli-strike-nasser-hospital-gaza

Gaza – Health System Collapse & MSF Coverage

MSF – critique of attacks on medical care in Gaza, impact on patients and staff
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/genocide-in-gaza/

MSF/UN OCHA and other context about hospitals under fire in Gaza
https://msf.org.za/israel-palestine-conflict (MSF South Africa overview of Gaza health situation)

Wikipedia summary of repeated attacks and damage to healthcare facilities in Gaza
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacks_on_protected_zones_and_civilians_in_Gaza (healthcare section)

Wikipedia page on Nasser Hospital (shelled repeatedly in conflict)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasser_Hospital

Explanation of the “wounded child, no surviving family” term linked to MSF reporting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_child%2C_no_surviving_family