TEHRAN – The Iranian representative at the UN High Council for Human Rights has described Israel's airstrike on the Iranian Red Crescent's humanitarian aid facility located at the Syrian-Lebanese border as a war crime and a violation of international humanitarian law.

On Friday Kazem Gharib Abadi stated on his X account, “The assault by the Zionist regime on the 56-bed field hospital operated by the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria, along with its medical supply warehouse on October 9, 2024, which resulted in a fire, significantly obstructs humanitarian services and is deemed a war crime.”

Gharib Abadi further emphasized that the Israeli strike constituted a violation of the principles and regulations of international humanitarian law as outlined in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, as well as customary international humanitarian rules, which categorically forbid any attacks on civilian locations and facilities, particularly medical centers and hospitals. 

Previously, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned the attack in letters addressed to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council.

The ambassador reiterated that the assault was a war crime and a violation of international humanitarian law.

The Israeli airstrike, which occurred on October 9, resulted in the destruction of the Iranian Red Crescent’s facility and its supplies, including hospital beds and advanced medical equipment.