( CNN ) -- A Libyan rebel fighter collapses to the ground during a firefight in the city of Misrata . Shrapnel rips through an artery in his leg , and he is rapidly losing blood . Medics battle to save his life in an abandoned building that doubles as an emergency operating theater . They come under fire . The man dies . Photographer Andre Liohn 's images of the grim scene provide insight into the risky conditions under which medical personnel in conflict zones operate . It used to be that a red cross on a vehicle or building meant protection . But not anymore . Assaults on medical personnel and facilities have become all too common , the International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday in releasing a new report . `` Violence against health-care facilities and personnel must end . It 's a matter of life and death , '' said Yves Daccord , the director-general of the organization . `` The human cost is staggering : civilians and fighters often die from their injuries simply because they are prevented from receiving timely medical assistance , '' Daccord said . Read the opinion of ICRC Director-General , Yves Daccord . Louis Lillywhite , former surgeon general of the British armed forces , said in World War II a British hospital on the front lines was able to function even with fighting on the premises . `` Both the Germans and the British respected the neutrality of the area that was actually reserved as the hospital , '' he said . `` And it was on the basis that they did not participate in any military activities at all . '' But these days , convincing warring parties of the neutrality of medical personnel is a challenge . Michiel Hofman of Medecins Sans Frontieres ( Doctors Without Borders ) said in a place like Afghanistan , for instance , medics can only operate if there is no military presence whatsoever . `` It is the old concept of the gun-free hospital , '' Hofman said . `` This concept was there for a reason . Once there ( are ) guns inside a hospital , the hospital is no longer a neutral zone , and it will get attacked by different military forces . '' The Red Cross report said that millions of lives could be saved if the delivery of health care were more respected . `` The most shocking finding is that people die in large numbers not because they are direct victims of a roadside bomb or a shooting , '' said Robin Coupland , whose research in 16 countries formed the basis of the report . `` They die because the ambulance does not get there in time , because health-care personnel are prevented from doing their work , because hospitals are themselves targets of attacks or simply because the environment is too dangerous for effective health care to be delivered . '' Medical workers are becoming war 's first casualties , Daccord said . Hospitals in Sri Lanka and Somalia have been shelled , ambulances in Libya , shot at . Paramedics in Colombia were killed and the wounded in Afghanistan languished for hours in vehicles held at checkpoints . All of it presents `` one of the most urgent yet overlooked humanitarian tragedies , '' Daccord said . `` The issue has been staring us in the face for years . It must end . '' CNN 's Atika Shubert contributed to this report .
A new Red Cross report chronicles assaults on medical workers in conflict zones . Those attacks are costing many lives . The neutrality of health care workers and doctors is no longer guaranteed . Such attacks must end , the Red Cross says .