At least 70 people, including seven women and 13 children, were killed in a deadly strike on El‑Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The attack, which occurred on Friday, has left the hospital’s outpatient and emergency departments severely damaged and the facility non‑functional, depriving more than two million people of critical medical services.
The WHO’s deputy representative in Sudan, Hala Khudari, described the incident as an “atrocious attack on a healthcare facility,” warning that the assault on a civilian hospital exacerbates an already dire humanitarian situation in the country. Hundreds more were reportedly wounded in the strike, which hit patients, family members and healthcare staff inside the hospital compound
Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal conflict for more than three years, pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The fighting has taken a heavy toll on civilian infrastructure, with frequent aerial and drone strikes on towns, markets and health facilities, contributing to tens of thousands of deaths and widespread displacement, according to international agencies.
Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly sounded the alarm about shrinking access to medical care, food and shelter as the crisis deepens. The WHO said attacks on healthcare personnel and facilities undermine efforts to respond to disease outbreaks and provide essential care to millions of vulnerable people, calling for urgent measures to protect civilians and uphold international humanitarian law.