WHO says it has verified 13 attacks on health sites in Iran

The World Health Organization chief says that it has verified 13 attacks on health infrastructure in Iran amid a US-Israeli campaign, and it is checking reports that four medics were killed and 25 others injured.

“WHO has verified 13 attacks on health care in Iran and one in Lebanon,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tells a press conference, without attributing blame or giving details.

Both the US and Israel say they are not targeting civilian sites and infrastructure in Iran.

Dr. Hanan Balkhy adds at the same briefing that four ambulances in Iran were also affected and that hospitals and other health sites suffered minor damage due to strikes nearby, citing Iranian authorities. One of these hospitals in the capital Tehran was evacuated as a result, the UN health agency previously says.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva has alleged that 10 facilities have been hit by military strikes in a letter to Tedros earlier this week.

Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, says that “the situation across the eastern Mediterranean is indeed escalating rapidly” and expresses concern for civilians and health systems.

However, she says that “it seems that Iran has a strong and robust primary health care system, and there doesn’t seem to be significant damage.”

“Of course, the best medicine is peace,” says Ghebreyesus.