A devastating strike on El-Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, Sudan, has killed 64 people and injured 89 others, including 13 children among the dead. The World Health Organization reports that the attack occurred on Friday, rendering the facility non-functional and disrupting essential medical services.
Details of the Attack
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the strike targeted the hospital’s pediatric, maternity, and emergency departments. Among the casualties were two female nurses, one male doctor, multiple patients, and eight health staff wounded. “Enough blood has been spilled,” Tedros declared on X, calling for an immediate end to the nearly three-year conflict.
A Sudanese rights group, Emergency Lawyers, attributes the incident to an army drone strike. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces control much of western Darfur, while the Sudanese army holds the east, center, and north.
Impact on Healthcare and Humanitarian Response
The hospital now stands heavily damaged, leading to a critical interruption in services. WHO teams are scaling up support at nearby facilities, boosting capacity for the injured and supplying trauma care equipment and medicines.
The UN’s humanitarian office in Sudan expresses horror at the attack, noting that hospitals have faced repeated targeting since the war began in April 2023. WHO’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care records 2,036 deaths from 213 such incidents, surpassing 2,000 fatalities.
Tedros highlights the growing lethality: 64 attacks in 2023 caused 38 deaths, 72 attacks in 2024 resulted in 200 deaths, and 65 attacks in 2025 claimed 1,620 lives—82% of global health attack fatalities that year. “Health care should never be a target. Peace is the best medicine,” he emphasized.
Escalating Conflict and Drone Warfare
El-Daein, under RSF control, endures frequent army assaults aimed at reclaiming territory. Recent strikes, including one on a city market, have caused extensive fires. Friday’s attack involved heavy weapons, impacting staff, patients, supplies, and storage.
Near-daily drone strikes define the war, particularly in southern Kordofan. UN human rights chief Volker Türk recently condemned the trend after over 200 civilians died in an eight-day span from drone attacks. “Parties to the conflict continue to use increasingly powerful drones to deploy explosive weapons with wide-area impacts in populated areas,” he said.
The broader war has killed tens of thousands, displaced over 11 million, and sparked the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises, with 33 million needing aid. “Enough suffering has been inflicted,” Tedros urges. “The time has come to de-escalate the conflict and ensure the protection of civilians, health workers, and humanitarians.”
