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A hospital room is seen at Shahid Baqaei Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran after 211 children were forced to evacuate due to US strikes on July 15, 2026.
(Photo by Seyed Khalil Mousavi/Mehrs News Agency)
As US Ramps Up Attacks in Civilian Areas in Iran, 'Barbaric' Strikes Near Hospital Force Children to Evacuate
Iran's foreign ministry called the attack, which led to the evacuation of pediatric cancer patients, a "war crime."
Jul 16, 2026
A doctor at Shahid Baqaei Hospital in Ahvaz in Iran's southern Khuzestan province emphasized that the children being treated at the facility when the US military attacked the area on Wednesday were suffering serious illnesses, and had to be urgently evacuated while on ventilators and receiving chemotherapy.
"There have been patients with various illnesses, cancer patients and special illnesses, who are fragile," the doctor told Al Jazeera. "People are not here by accident, they have particular illnesses. The blast wave was intense. It was so close we said they had hit the hospital, the upper floors of the hospital."
Hospital director Majid Bouadhar said 211 children had to be urgently taken to nearby facilities after, as Drop Site News reported, "multiple projectiles landed in the immediate surroundings" of the hospital.
The specialized pediatric center "sustained severe shockwaves that shattered windows, triggered intense vibrations, and sparked widespread panic," reported Drop Site.
Iranians are inspecting the damage from days of US strikes on key cities in the country’s south and west. Residents say attacks have damaged ports and at least one hospital. pic.twitter.com/LDOBmbENDd
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 16, 2026
Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that the "barbaric attack" was "reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities, [and] caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalized children."
"This constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings—children who are bravely fighting for their lives," said Baqaei. "Those who ceaselessly preach human rights, yet deliberately turn a blind eye to the targeting of hospitals and health centers, have forfeited every shred of moral credibility."
Assal Rad of the Arab Center Washington, DC said, "Imagine the coverage in Western media if it was a children’s hospital in Israel."
The strikes came days after President Donald Trump notified Congress that he had ordered "defensive strikes" in Iran, claiming the War Powers Resolution of 1973 gave him the authority to do so. The US strikes were renewed despite a negotiated memorandum of understanding to end hostilities that was agreed to in mid-June.
The president this week also renewed his previous threat to attack civilian infrastructure unless there is a new deal by next week—a war crime under international law—as the Iranian military attacked US military assets in Kuwait and Jordan.
The attack near the hospital was just one sign that the US has already begun striking civilian infrastructure, particularly in port cities and towns across Iran's southern coast.
The war that was started by Israel and the US in late February, which Trump said would last a few weeks, is now in its fifth month as the president aims to take control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian Embassy in Kenya noted that days before the US forced the evacuation of hundreds of children in Ahvaz, Trump said the military was being "very careful with civilians."
The war has killed more than 3,400 people in Iran, including hundreds of children in attacks on schools and other civilian infrastructure.
Al Jazeera reported Thursday that the US also struck the main building of a civilian airport and a storage facility in Semnan, near Tehran. The outlet also reported on US strikes across the southern port city of Bushehr, where Iran's only civilian nuclear plant is located.
"This port is used completely for tourism and commercial business such as for oil," one man said in a video posted by the outlet. "It has nothing to do with the military."
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A doctor at Shahid Baqaei Hospital in Ahvaz in Iran's southern Khuzestan province emphasized that the children being treated at the facility when the US military attacked the area on Wednesday were suffering serious illnesses, and had to be urgently evacuated while on ventilators and receiving chemotherapy.
"There have been patients with various illnesses, cancer patients and special illnesses, who are fragile," the doctor told Al Jazeera. "People are not here by accident, they have particular illnesses. The blast wave was intense. It was so close we said they had hit the hospital, the upper floors of the hospital."
Hospital director Majid Bouadhar said 211 children had to be urgently taken to nearby facilities after, as Drop Site News reported, "multiple projectiles landed in the immediate surroundings" of the hospital.
The specialized pediatric center "sustained severe shockwaves that shattered windows, triggered intense vibrations, and sparked widespread panic," reported Drop Site.
Iranians are inspecting the damage from days of US strikes on key cities in the country’s south and west. Residents say attacks have damaged ports and at least one hospital. pic.twitter.com/LDOBmbENDd
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 16, 2026
Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that the "barbaric attack" was "reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities, [and] caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalized children."
"This constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings—children who are bravely fighting for their lives," said Baqaei. "Those who ceaselessly preach human rights, yet deliberately turn a blind eye to the targeting of hospitals and health centers, have forfeited every shred of moral credibility."
Assal Rad of the Arab Center Washington, DC said, "Imagine the coverage in Western media if it was a children’s hospital in Israel."
The strikes came days after President Donald Trump notified Congress that he had ordered "defensive strikes" in Iran, claiming the War Powers Resolution of 1973 gave him the authority to do so. The US strikes were renewed despite a negotiated memorandum of understanding to end hostilities that was agreed to in mid-June.
The president this week also renewed his previous threat to attack civilian infrastructure unless there is a new deal by next week—a war crime under international law—as the Iranian military attacked US military assets in Kuwait and Jordan.
The attack near the hospital was just one sign that the US has already begun striking civilian infrastructure, particularly in port cities and towns across Iran's southern coast.
The war that was started by Israel and the US in late February, which Trump said would last a few weeks, is now in its fifth month as the president aims to take control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian Embassy in Kenya noted that days before the US forced the evacuation of hundreds of children in Ahvaz, Trump said the military was being "very careful with civilians."
The war has killed more than 3,400 people in Iran, including hundreds of children in attacks on schools and other civilian infrastructure.
Al Jazeera reported Thursday that the US also struck the main building of a civilian airport and a storage facility in Semnan, near Tehran. The outlet also reported on US strikes across the southern port city of Bushehr, where Iran's only civilian nuclear plant is located.
"This port is used completely for tourism and commercial business such as for oil," one man said in a video posted by the outlet. "It has nothing to do with the military."
From Your Site Articles
- 'Mistakes Are Made': Trump Rejects Accountability for US Massacre at Iran Girls' School ›
- 'Have You Investigated Those Claims' of Civilians Killed by US in Iran? CENTCOM Chief: 'We Have Not' ›
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A doctor at Shahid Baqaei Hospital in Ahvaz in Iran's southern Khuzestan province emphasized that the children being treated at the facility when the US military attacked the area on Wednesday were suffering serious illnesses, and had to be urgently evacuated while on ventilators and receiving chemotherapy.
"There have been patients with various illnesses, cancer patients and special illnesses, who are fragile," the doctor told Al Jazeera. "People are not here by accident, they have particular illnesses. The blast wave was intense. It was so close we said they had hit the hospital, the upper floors of the hospital."
Hospital director Majid Bouadhar said 211 children had to be urgently taken to nearby facilities after, as Drop Site News reported, "multiple projectiles landed in the immediate surroundings" of the hospital.
The specialized pediatric center "sustained severe shockwaves that shattered windows, triggered intense vibrations, and sparked widespread panic," reported Drop Site.
Iranians are inspecting the damage from days of US strikes on key cities in the country’s south and west. Residents say attacks have damaged ports and at least one hospital. pic.twitter.com/LDOBmbENDd
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 16, 2026
Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that the "barbaric attack" was "reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities, [and] caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalized children."
"This constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings—children who are bravely fighting for their lives," said Baqaei. "Those who ceaselessly preach human rights, yet deliberately turn a blind eye to the targeting of hospitals and health centers, have forfeited every shred of moral credibility."
Assal Rad of the Arab Center Washington, DC said, "Imagine the coverage in Western media if it was a children’s hospital in Israel."
The strikes came days after President Donald Trump notified Congress that he had ordered "defensive strikes" in Iran, claiming the War Powers Resolution of 1973 gave him the authority to do so. The US strikes were renewed despite a negotiated memorandum of understanding to end hostilities that was agreed to in mid-June.
The president this week also renewed his previous threat to attack civilian infrastructure unless there is a new deal by next week—a war crime under international law—as the Iranian military attacked US military assets in Kuwait and Jordan.
The attack near the hospital was just one sign that the US has already begun striking civilian infrastructure, particularly in port cities and towns across Iran's southern coast.
The war that was started by Israel and the US in late February, which Trump said would last a few weeks, is now in its fifth month as the president aims to take control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian Embassy in Kenya noted that days before the US forced the evacuation of hundreds of children in Ahvaz, Trump said the military was being "very careful with civilians."
The war has killed more than 3,400 people in Iran, including hundreds of children in attacks on schools and other civilian infrastructure.
Al Jazeera reported Thursday that the US also struck the main building of a civilian airport and a storage facility in Semnan, near Tehran. The outlet also reported on US strikes across the southern port city of Bushehr, where Iran's only civilian nuclear plant is located.
"This port is used completely for tourism and commercial business such as for oil," one man said in a video posted by the outlet. "It has nothing to do with the military."
From Your Site Articles
- 'Mistakes Are Made': Trump Rejects Accountability for US Massacre at Iran Girls' School ›
- 'Have You Investigated Those Claims' of Civilians Killed by US in Iran? CENTCOM Chief: 'We Have Not' ›
- US Strike on Iranian School Came After Commanders 'Bypassed Warnings' About Outdated Target Info ›
Related Articles Around the Web
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