Targeting of the Maternity and Childhood Hospital in Taiz: A Continuation of the Assault on Healthcare Facilities in Yemen Throughout 12 Years of Saudi-Led Aggression
Sanaa – October 25, 2026
Entisaf Organization for Women and Child Rights condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the targeting of the Maternity and Childhood Hospital in the Al-Shamayatayn District of Taiz Governorate by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes. The attack occurred while the hospital was receiving patients and visitors, resulting in severe damage to the facility’s building, internal departments, equipment, and medical devices. It also incited widespread panic among the women, children, patients, and others present at the site.
The organization asserts that targeting a hospital dedicated to maternal and child healthcare—thereby endangering patients, medical staff, and the facility itself—constitutes a grave violation of the special protection afforded to hospitals and medical units under international humanitarian law. Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 mandates the protection of civilian hospitals, while Articles 12 and 13 of Additional Protocol I guarantee the protection of medical units; international norms dictate that such facilities must be respected, protected, and kept free from attack.
The organization further notes that the damage inflicted upon the hospital, its departments, and its medical equipment threatens its ability to continue providing healthcare to women, children, and other patients—particularly those requiring specialized, ongoing care. Moreover, the injuries sustained by patients, their companions, and medical staff, combined with the state of terror experienced within the hospital, underscore the extreme danger posed by subjecting healthcare facilities to bombardment. The targeting of the hospital coincided with a significant escalation of airstrikes in Taiz Governorate—a development that further compounds the risks faced by civilians, as well as civilian and healthcare infrastructure.
Entisaf Organization warns of the humanitarian and health-related repercussions resulting from the continued targeting of—or damage to—healthcare facilities. Such actions disrupt medical services, damage vital equipment and hospital departments, and exacerbate the suffering of patients. Furthermore, they inflict profound psychological and social trauma upon women, children, and other highly vulnerable groups.
The organization calls upon the international community, the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and various human rights and humanitarian organizations to uphold their legal and humanitarian responsibilities. It urges them to ensure that the special protection afforded to hospitals, medical facilities, and health units is respected. It further calls for an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack on the Maternity and Childhood Hospital—including the resulting damage and casualties—and for those responsible for these violations to be held accountable under international law, ensuring justice and reparation for the victims.
Additionally, Entisaf Organization urges the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and relevant humanitarian bodies to support the protection of healthcare facilities, ensure their continued operation, and provide necessary assistance to damaged sites, thereby guaranteeing the ongoing provision of medical care to women, children, and patients.
The organization reiterates its call for the immediate protection of civilians and healthcare facilities, strict adherence to the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and the implementation of serious international measures to prevent the recurrence of attacks on medical and civilian infrastructure. It further demands that those responsible for violations—as established by investigations—not be allowed to evade accountability.
Issued by: Entisaf Organization for Women and Child Rights
October 25, 2026