The World Health Organization announced Thursday that it has confirmed 13 separate attacks targeting healthcare facilities in Iran during current military operations in the region, with officials investigating reports of medical personnel casualties.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed during a Geneva press conference that the organization has documented the healthcare attacks in Iran along with one incident in Lebanon, though he did not specify who was responsible for the strikes.
“WHO has verified 13 attacks on health care in Iran and one in Lebanon,” Ghebreyesus stated during the briefing.
According to Dr. Hanan Balkhy, who spoke at the same press conference, Iranian officials reported that four healthcare workers lost their lives while 25 others sustained injuries in the incidents. She noted that four ambulances were also impacted and that medical facilities and hospitals experienced minor structural damage from nearby strikes.
The attacks forced at least one hospital in Tehran, Iran’s capital city, to evacuate its patients and staff, according to previous statements from the UN health agency.
Earlier this week, Iran’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva sent correspondence to Tedros claiming that military strikes had damaged 10 healthcare facilities.
Balkhy also mentioned that the WHO’s logistics center in Dubai, which distributes medical supplies to numerous countries throughout the region, has temporarily suspended operations due to transportation limitations caused by the regional conflict.
