Academics are advocating for the term “healthocide” to describe the targeting of medics and hospitals during acts of war, as such incidents have been on the rise in the past few years. These attacks have occurred in various countries, including Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, and El Salvador, with health services being deliberately targeted and medics facing violence and abuse. Despite the international humanitarian law principle of medical neutrality, which is meant to protect healthcare workers and facilities during conflicts, these attacks continue. In a commentary published in the British Medical Journal, Dr. Joelle Abi-Rached and colleagues from the American University of Beirut emphasized that healthcare facilities have not only been directly targeted but also obstructed, resulting in ambulances being blocked or attacked.
The World Health Organization’s representative for the West Bank and Gaza has stated that hospitals in Gaza have turned into battlegrounds, with the healthcare system being dismantled. Lebanon’s ministry of public health has reported that between October 2023 and January 2025, hundreds of healthcare workers were killed, ambulances damaged, and hospitals attacked by the Israel Defense Forces. The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition recorded the highest number of attacks on or obstruction of healthcare in 2024.
The authors of the BMJ article urge healthcare professionals to speak out against “healthocide” or face the emboldening of future violators, advocating for the enforcement of justice and international humanitarian law. Global health lawyer Maarten van der Heijden notes that international humanitarian laws, such as the Geneva conventions, can be interpreted and lack accountability, leading to hospitals being bombed if considered harmful to the enemy. The British Medical Association’s medical ethics committee chair has expressed devastation over the increase in attacks on healthcare in conflicts, particularly in Gaza, where the population is at risk of famine and health systems have been destroyed. The potential solution to address these abuses includes the establishment of a UN special rapporteur on the protection of health in armed conflicts.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/05/healthocide-doctors-hospitals-targeted-gaza
