Why have hospitals become a target of war in Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza?

The deliberate targeting of hospitals has become a grim pattern in conflicts from Ukraine and Sudan to Gaza. In each war, medical facilities have been struck by airstrikes, shelling, or ground assaults, killing patients and staff and depriving entire communities of critical care. The reasons vary but often stem from combatants using hospitals for military purposes—storing weapons, hiding fighters, or operating command posts—which strips them of legal protections. International humanitarian law (the Geneva Conventions) grants hospitals special status: they are not supposed to be attacked unless they are used for acts harmful to the enemy. When they are, the line between protected and legitimate target blurs. In Ukraine, Russian forces have hit hospitals repeatedly, accusing Ukrainian troops of using them as bases. In Sudan, both the army and the Rapid Support Forces have shelled medical facilities in Khartoum and Darfur. In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes have levelled hospitals, citing Hamas command centres underneath. The consequences are devastating: patients die in their beds, doctors flee, and outbreaks of disease become harder to control. The World Health Organization recorded over 1,200 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine alone in 2022. In Sudan, less than a third of hospitals in conflict zones still function. In Gaza, the health system has virtually collapsed. For civilians, losing a hospital often means the difference between life and death, especially for trauma victims, pregnant women, and the chronically ill. The trend shows no sign of reversing, as warring parties increasingly see medical infrastructure as a military asset to be denied to the enemy.