The recent military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah is resulting in widespread and mounting harms to civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, health workers, patients, and the broader health system. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) joins the deans of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut (AUB) to call for immediate action from combatants and the international community to ensure adherence to international humanitarian law and protect health care. 

Abla Mehio Sibai, the current dean of AUB’s Faculty of Health Sciences, was joined by Iman Nuwayhid and Huda Zurayk, the previous two deans, in warning of a mounting humanitarian catastrophe. While spotlighting the recent deaths tolls, their letter emphasizes that “these casualty figures and scenes of despair are not mere statistics; they are the very fabric of our society, innocent children buried under the rubble, families torn apart, and dreams shattered.”