WHO warns of regional health collapse as Middle East conflict escalates

More than 10 days into the latest escalation of hostilities, the war in the Middle East is grappling with a surge in casualties, mass displacement, and systematic attacks on medical infrastructure. WHO maintains health workers, patients, and medical facilities must remain protected.

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning that health systems across the Middle East are nearing a point of total collapse.

More than 10 days into the latest escalation of hostilities, the region is grappling with a surge in casualties, mass displacement, and systematic attacks on medical infrastructure.

According to WHO, national health authorities in Iran have reported over 1,300 deaths and 9,000 injuries, while in Lebanon, at least 570 people have died and 1,400 have been injured. In Israel, authorities have recorded 15 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries.

The crisis is being compounded by a series of direct strikes on the very services meant to save lives. Since Feb 28, the WHO has verified 18 attacks on healthcare facilities in Iran, resulting in the deaths of eight medical workers.

“During the same period in Lebanon, 25 attacks on healthcare have led to 16 deaths and 29 injuries. These actions not only cost lives in the immediate term but also strip entire communities of medical care at the moment they need it most,” WHO said in a statement.

WHO maintains that health workers, patients, and medical facilities must remain protected under international humanitarian law regardless of the intensity of the conflict.

“The displacement of civilians is creating a secondary public health emergency. Current estimates suggest that up to 700,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon, while more than 100,000 in Iran have relocated due to insecurity. Many are now living in overcrowded collective shelters where public health conditions are deteriorating rapidly.

“Limited access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene has significantly increased the risk of respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, and other communicable illnesses, particularly among women and children. Environmental hazards are also rising, with petroleum fires and damaged infrastructure in Iran exposing communities to toxic pollutants,” the world health body added.

Access to essential services is evaporating as the conflict expands. In Lebanon, 49 primary healthcare centres and five hospitals have been forced to close following evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military.

In the occupied Palestinian territory, movement restrictions and checkpoint closures are preventing ambulances and mobile clinics from reaching those in need across the West Bank.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, medical evacuations have remained suspended since late February. Hospitals there continue to operate under extreme strain, rationing dwindling supplies of fuel and medicine to maintain critical services such as emergency trauma care and neonatal support.

The reach of the conflict has also disrupted global humanitarian logistics.

Temporary airspace restrictions have hampered the movement of medical supplies from the WHO’s hub in Dubai, affecting more than 50 emergency requests intended for 25 countries. This has created significant backlogs for priority shipments destined for Egypt, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.

This escalation strikes a region where humanitarian needs were already among the highest globally, with 115 million people requiring assistance. With health emergency appeals currently 70 per cent underfunded, the WHO has called for an immediate de-escalation to prevent a total catastrophe for the region’s most vulnerable populations.