WHO: Conflict is worsening Middle East health crisis

Source: World Health Organization

Story by: Ntiamoah Bernice Mantebea

March 13, 2026.

More than ten days into the latest wave of conflict in the Middle East, health services across the region are under severe pressure. Rising injuries and displacement are overwhelming facilities, while attacks on healthcare continue and public health threats grow.

National authorities in Iran report more than 1,300 deaths and 9,000 injuries. In Lebanon, the figures stand at least at 570 deaths and over 1,400 injuries. Israel records 15 deaths and 2,142 injuries. Behind these numbers are grieving families, wounded children, and communities torn apart.

The violence directly threatens lifesaving care. WHO has verified 18 attacks on health facilities in Iran since February 28, resulting in 8 health worker deaths. In Lebanon, 25 attacks have caused 16 deaths and 29 injuries. Such strikes not only claim lives but also deny people the help they desperately need. International humanitarian law requires protection for health workers, patients, and facilities.

Wider risks are emerging too. Over 100,000 people in Iran have fled to safer areas due to insecurity. In Lebanon, up to 700,000 are displaced within the country, often crowded into shelters lacking clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. These conditions heighten dangers of respiratory infections, diarrhea, and other diseases, hitting vulnerable groups like women and children hardest.

Environmental hazards add to the dangers. In Iran, petroleum fires and smoke from damaged sites expose communities to toxic air, causing breathing problems, eye and skin irritation, and unsafe water and food.

Access to care is shrinking fast. In Lebanon, 49 primary health centers and five hospitals have closed following evacuation orders from Israel's military, even as medical needs surge. In the occupied Palestinian territory, stricter checkpoints in the West Bank delay ambulances and mobile clinics. In Gaza, medical evacuations remain halted since February 28, with hospitals rationing medicines, supplies, and fuel for critical services like emergencies, maternal care, newborn support, and disease control.

Airspace restrictions are blocking supplies from WHO's Dubai hub. More than 50 emergency shipments for 1.5 million people in 25 countries face delays, including key aid for Gaza via Egypt's Al Arish, Lebanon, and Afghanistan. The first backlog cholera supplies for Mozambique, is due to depart soon.

This comes as the Eastern Mediterranean Region grapples with massive needs: 115 million people require humanitarian aid, nearly half of the global total, yet health appeals are only 70% funded.

Without protections for healthcare, steady aid access, and stronger support, the burden on fragile systems and suffering people will only worsen.

"WHO calls on all parties to protect civilians and health care, ensure unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, and pursue de-escalation of the conflict so communities can begin to recover and move towards peace."