An unprecedented crisis in contemporary medicine is the deliberate destruction of healthcare facilities in conflict areas. The Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities and the denial of access to basic medical care in Gaza and Lebanon goes beyond mere collateral damage and becomes a major issue for medical neutrality in the twenty-first century, particularly to the vulnerbale population including children. The number of children killed by Israeli airstrikes is incomprehensible: 14,100 children died in Gaza in just a year 2024; 20,000 more children went missing under debris; and 890 children died across the border in Lebanon, including 650 in just six weeks in October and November of 2023. Behind every number is a healthcare system that is overburdened and unable to carry out its most basic duty, which is to protect and treat the most vulnerable members of society. Children suffered various types of blast related injuries, presenting severe challenges to pediatric emergency medicine.
Paediatric medicine in war zones faces a precarious future. Our ability to fulfil our basic pledge to "first, do no harm" by making sure that children in conflict areas have access to the critical medical care they require will depend on how we handle this situation. Now is the moment to act, and the medical community needs to take the lead.
Reference to the article
Nasari A, Marzouk S, Mowafi H, Al-Hajj S. The medical crisis of war-injured children in Gaza and Lebanon. Nature Medicine. 2025 Feb 3:1-2.