Overview
- A strike that flattened the Omid Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre left large numbers dead and wounded in Kabul, with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan independently verifying at least 269 civilian deaths and 122 injuries from the March 16 attack.
- Amnesty International published a July investigation that verified more than 60 photos and videos, reviewed over 30 satellite images, and interviewed staff and witnesses, concluding the complex was an active 2,000‑bed medical facility with no evidence of weapons or ammunition stores.
- Pakistan has repeatedly denied striking a hospital and says its forces hit a nearby military ammunition and equipment site known as Camp Phoenix, but Islamabad has not publicly produced evidence to support that claim in response to Amnesty’s inquiry.
- Amnesty says the strike breached the special protections afforded to healthcare under international humanitarian law, described the attack as possibly amounting to a war crime, and demanded a transparent independent investigation and prosecution where appropriate.
- The incident has deepened diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan against a background of cross‑border fighting, has left survivors and families grieving after mass funerals, and could prompt international pressure for further UN or independent fact‑finding steps.