International humanitarian law (IHL) governs armed conflict to protect civilians and limit methods of warfare. The origins of IHL have proven tragically prescient. The 1864 treaty that laid the foundation for IHL, addressing wounded soldiers, afforded ambulances and military hospitals protected status, while safeguarding medical personnel.1 Eighty years later, the Nuremburg Trials invoked the salience of medical ethics. Yet today, wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and globally are catastrophic demonstrations of the importance of IHL鈥攁nd its impotence. Artillery shells rain down on medical facilities, patients and health personnel are killed, and hospitals are rendered inoperable. Views on the Israel-Hamas war sharply differ, but it should be possible to agree on the sacredness of health.