Sat Aug 16 00:30:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text, written from an Indian perspective, as if published in The Hindu:
**Headline: New Term ‘Healthocide’ Emerges to Describe Systematic Destruction of Healthcare in Conflict Zones**
**New Delhi, August 17, 2025:** A new term, “healthocide,” has been coined by researchers at the American University of Beirut to describe the deliberate and large-scale destruction of healthcare systems in conflict zones, according to an article published in BMJ Global Health on August 5th. This term is viewed from India, which has a keen understanding of these matters.
The concept of “healthocide,” as defined by the researchers, encompasses a coordinated strategy to target medical personnel, bomb hospitals, obstruct ambulances, and disrupt supply chains with the intent of eliminating a population’s access to medical care. The authors argue that the term elevates these actions to a level akin to genocide, recognizing the intentional destruction of essential resources necessary for life and dignity. They propose that the use of this term will encourage stricter legal protections under international humanitarian law.
The article highlights recent conflicts, such as the situation in Gaza, as potential examples of “healthocide.” Images recently released by Reuters show Israeli soldiers exiting a tunnel underneath the European Hospital at Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. The new term would cover the deliberate, large-scale destruction of whole health ecosystems in conflict zones.
The authors call on physicians and educators to document violations, advocate for the enforcement of international humanitarian law by governments, and actively resist complicity in “healthocides.” By naming this pattern of violence, they aim to mobilize the global medical community to combat the increasing weaponization of healthcare.
However, the necessity of a new term is not universally agreed upon. Len Rubenstein, chair of the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, expressed reservations, stating that “it doesn’t add [to] what we already understand about the sanctity of health care and war.”
In contrast, University of Greenwich global health expert Amal Elamin argues that “the word reinforces the fact that the targeted attacks on health care settings and health workers is no longer an isolated precedent.”
The introduction of the term “healthocide” has sparked a debate within the global health community about the need for a more precise and impactful description of the systematic destruction of healthcare in conflict zones. It remains to be seen whether the term will gain widespread acceptance and lead to stronger legal protections for healthcare systems in war-torn regions.
First Piper 