TEHRAN— Iran has accused the United States of committing a ‘cowardly war crime’ after a US strike near a children’s cancer hospital in the southwestern city of Ahvaz forced the emergency evacuation of more than 200 pediatric patients, intensifying international concern over the humanitarian impact of the escalating conflict.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the overnight strike targeted an area close to Shahid Baqaei Specialized Hospital, a major pediatric oncology center, compelling medical staff to evacuate 211 children receiving cancer treatment, including chemotherapy patients.
In a statement posted on X, Baqaei described the attack as “barbaric,” drawing comparisons with Israeli strikes on healthcare facilities in the Gaza Strip.
“This barbaric attack, reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities, caused severe suffering and anxiety among hospitalized children and forced the emergency evacuation of 211 patients undergoing chemotherapy,” Baqaei said. “This constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings—children who are bravely fighting for their lives.”
Hospital officials said the explosion occurred only a short distance from the medical complex.
Dr. Majid Bou’azar, the hospital’s manager, said all 211 patients had to be relocated under emergency conditions following the strike.
“These are highly vulnerable patients, including children undergoing cancer treatment,” he told Al Jazeera.
Medical staff described scenes of panic as doctors and nurses rushed critically ill children to safety.
“Some of the patients were on oxygen support and ventilators,” one hospital employee said. “Parents were carrying children in their arms. Others were moved with intravenous lines still attached or transported in wheelchairs.”
Hospital director Reza Bazar said the nearby explosions disrupted the facility’s operations and temporarily rendered parts of the hospital unusable, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency.
The incident comes amid an expanding US military campaign that has increasingly targeted civilian infrastructure alongside military facilities.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry urged the international community, the United Nations and humanitarian organizations to condemn the attack, arguing that strikes endangering medical facilities violate international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, which provide special protection for hospitals and medical personnel during armed conflicts.
Iranian officials argued that attacks placing healthcare institutions at risk represent serious violations of international law regardless of whether hospitals themselves are directly struck.
The government has repeatedly accused Washington of widening the conflict by targeting civilian infrastructure and warned that such operations threaten prospects for a negotiated end to the war.
The latest incident has renewed broader international concern over the protection of medical facilities in armed conflict.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly warned that attacks affecting hospitals, ambulances and healthcare workers have devastating humanitarian consequences, stressing that medical facilities enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law and must never become targets of military operations.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has likewise consistently emphasized that parties to armed conflicts are obligated to distinguish between military objectives and civilian infrastructure and to ensure the safety of hospitals and patients.
While neither organization had issued a specific public statement on the Ahvaz incident at the time of reporting, both have repeatedly called for strict compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of healthcare services in conflict zones.
The reported evacuation of pediatric cancer patients has also drawn renewed attention from humanitarian observers, who warn that interruptions to specialized treatment can place vulnerable children at immediate medical risk and have lasting consequences for their recovery.
The incident adds to mounting fears that continued attacks affecting civilian infrastructure and healthcare services could further escalate the conflict and complicate diplomatic efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire.
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