By Bunmi Yekini
More than 10 days into the latest escalation of conflict in the Middle East, health systems across the region are coming under mounting pressure as casualties rise, mass displacement grows and attacks on medical facilities disrupt care, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
Health authorities in Iran have reported more than 1,300 deaths and 9,000 injuries since the escalation began, while Lebanon has recorded at least 570 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries. In Israel, authorities say 15 people have been killed and 2,142 injured.
The fighting has also affected the medical services needed to treat the wounded. The WHO said it had verified 18 attacks on healthcare in Iran since Feb. 28, killing eight health workers. In Lebanon, 25 attacks on health facilities over the same period have left 16 people dead and 29 injured.
“Health workers, patients and health facilities must always be protected under international humanitarian law,” the agency said, warning that such attacks deprive communities of critical care during emergencies.
Beyond the immediate casualties, the conflict is driving widespread displacement and increasing public health risks. More than 100,000 people in Iran have moved to other areas of the country because of insecurity, while up to 700,000 people in Lebanon have been internally displaced, many sheltering in overcrowded collective centres with limited access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
Those conditions raise the risk of respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases and other communicable illnesses, particularly among vulnerable groups such as women and children, the WHO said.
Environmental hazards are also emerging as a concern. Petroleum fires and smoke from damaged infrastructure in Iran have exposed nearby communities to toxic pollutants that could cause breathing problems, eye and skin irritation, and contamination of water and food sources.
Access to healthcare is increasingly constrained across several countries in the region. In Lebanon, 49 primary healthcare centres and five hospitals have shut after evacuation orders issued by Israel’s military, reducing essential services as medical needs rise.
In the occupied Palestinian territory, tighter movement restrictions and checkpoint closures in the West Bank are delaying ambulances and mobile clinics, while in Gaza medical evacuations have been suspended since Feb. 28. Hospitals there continue to operate under severe strain amid shortages of medicines, medical supplies and fuel.
Airspace restrictions have also disrupted the delivery of medical supplies from the WHO’s global logistics hub in Dubai, leaving more than 50 emergency supply requests backlogged. The shipments are intended to support more than 1.5 million people across 25 countries, including deliveries planned for Al Arish, Egypt, to aid the Gaza response, as well as supplies for Lebanon and Afghanistan.
The escalation comes as humanitarian needs across the Eastern Mediterranean region were already among the highest globally. Around 115 million people in the region require humanitarian assistance, nearly half of those in need worldwide, while health emergency appeals remain about 70% underfunded.
The WHO urged all parties to protect civilians and healthcare services, ensure sustained humanitarian access and pursue de-escalation of the conflict.
“Without protection for healthcare and stronger support for the humanitarian health response,” the agency said, “the strain on vulnerable populations and already fragile health systems will continue to grow.”