U.S. Airstrike Destroys Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Kunduz, Kills 42

A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship launches sustained airstrikes against a Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing 42 people including 14 staff members, 24 patients, and 4 caretakers. The attacks continue for more than an hour despite frantic phone calls from MSF to U.S. and Afghan military officials identifying the facility as a protected medical facility and pleading for the strikes to stop. The hospital destruction represents one of the most clear-cut violations of international humanitarian law in the Afghan War, targeting a clearly marked medical facility known to all parties, killing medical staff actively treating patients, and continuing even after being informed of the catastrophic error.

The hospital is the only facility in northeastern Afghanistan providing trauma care and surgery. MSF had provided U.S. and Afghan forces with the precise GPS coordinates of the hospital to avoid exactly this type of incident. The facility was clearly marked with MSF logos on the roof visible from the air. At the time of the attack, 105 patients were being treated and 80 MSF staff members were present. The AC-130 gunship fires repeatedly on the main hospital building, specifically targeting the intensive care unit and emergency room where staff were treating wounded patients. The precision targeting of medical wards demonstrates the attack was not stray fire but sustained bombardment of identified structures within the hospital compound.

MSF staff describe horrific scenes of patients burning in their beds, staff members shot while fleeing, and continued gunfire preventing evacuation of wounded. Several staff members are killed while performing surgery. The attacks continue for approximately 60 minutes from 2:08 AM to 3:15 AM. During the attack, MSF staff make urgent phone calls to U.S. military command in Kabul and Washington, providing real-time information that they are a protected medical facility under attack, yet the strikes continue for 30 minutes after these notifications. The sustained nature of the attack and failure to stop even after being informed it was a hospital indicate systematic failure in targeting, communication, and command decision-making.

The U.S. military’s initial explanations shift repeatedly. First, officials claim Afghan forces called for the airstrike on a different building and U.S. aircraft mistakenly hit the hospital. Then, they claim the hospital was caught in crossfire between U.S. forces and Taliban fighters. Later, officials suggest Taliban fighters were using the hospital. Finally, after these stories collapse under scrutiny, the Pentagon releases an investigation admitting the strikes were the result of multiple errors: misidentification of the target, failure to verify target against no-strike list, electronic warfare equipment failures, human error in communication, and inadequate oversight of targeting decisions. However, the investigation characterizes the destruction as accidental and recommends no criminal charges, only administrative discipline.

MSF condemns the attack as a war crime and calls for an independent international investigation under the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission. The organization argues that even if Taliban fighters were in the area (which MSF denies), attacking a protected medical facility and killing medical staff and patients violates absolute protections under the Geneva Conventions. International humanitarian law provides special protection to hospitals precisely because they treat all wounded regardless of affiliation. Even if combatants are present as patients, hospitals cannot be attacked. The U.S. refuses to consent to an independent international investigation, instead conducting its own internal review.

President Obama apologizes to MSF and the Afghan government for the “tragic incident” and announces condolence payments to victims’ families. However, the administration maintains the attack was accidental and refuses to characterize it as a war crime. No criminal charges are filed against any U.S. personnel involved. Sixteen military personnel receive administrative punishment including letters of reprimand, removal from command, and suspensions—but no one faces court-martial or criminal prosecution for killing 42 people in a hospital. Human Rights Watch criticizes the inadequate accountability, noting that destroying a hospital and killing medical personnel and patients should result in war crimes prosecution, not administrative discipline.

The Kunduz hospital attack represents a watershed moment exposing the consequences of signature strike mentality and kill-list warfare. When military operations prioritize killing suspected enemies over protecting civilians and medical facilities, and when accountability is limited to “tragic errors” rather than war crimes prosecution, the laws of war become meaningless. The attack destroyed the primary trauma hospital serving hundreds of thousands of civilians in northern Afghanistan, leaving the region without advanced medical care. MSF withdrew from Kunduz after 30 years of operations, citing inability to guarantee staff safety when even clearly marked hospitals are targeted. The impunity for hospital destruction demonstrates that even the most fundamental rules of warfare—protecting medical facilities and personnel—are violated with impunity when powerful militaries investigate themselves and refuse independent accountability.