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Medecins Sans Fronti猫res聽(MSF) General Director Christopher Stokes reiterated his organization鈥檚 into the bombing of a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, this weekend, saying that Afghan officials鈥� excuses for the air strike, believed to have been led by the United States, amount 鈥渢o an admission of a war crime.鈥�

At least 19 patients and staff were killed early Saturday morning, when an MSF hospital was hit聽repeatedly despite having provided its exact location to US-led Coalition forces. MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a private charity which treats patients around the world regardless of politics, religion, or ethnicity, and says that, as the only hospital in the area, it had taken in 394 patients since Monday, when fighting broke out in Kunduz after the Taliban captured the city.

The damage left the hospital unusable, .

The US Army has acknowledged that one of its airstrikes 鈥渕ay have caused collateral damage鈥� as it fought combatants, and promised to open an investigation, as has NATO.

However, 鈥渦nder the clear presumption that a war crime has been committed.鈥� The organization claims that on the night of the bombings, and that even after MSF first notified military officials that it had been hit.

鈥淭his attack is abhorrent and a grave violation of International Humanitarian Law,鈥� . 鈥淲e demand total transparency from Coalition forces. We cannot accept that this horrific loss of life will simply be dismissed as 鈥榗ollateral damage.'鈥澛�

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra鈥檃d Al Hussein joined MSF in condemning the attack and calling for an investigation into war crimes. Under international humanitarian law, hospitals may not be used as military targets or bases.

鈥淭he seriousness of the incident is underlined by the fact that, if established as deliberate in a court of law, an airstrike on a hospital may amount to a war crime," .听

Gregory Steven Gordon, a war crimes expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told CNN that civilian sites such as hospitals or schools if used as a site from which to launch military attacks.

Afghan officials have attempted to justify the strikes by saying that 鈥渁rmed terrorists鈥� were positioned in the hospital, which MSF strongly denies, and, , contradicts the American response. Even if militants were in the hospital, however, an attack would have to use 鈥渢he least destructive鈥� weapons and offer plenty of warning, according to Prof. Gordon.

According to the United Nations, over in Afghanistan since 2009, and the Kunduz attack will certainly not boost Americans鈥� reputation among locals. US forces are also under fire for supposedly ignoring Afghan partners鈥� routine abuse of young boys, .

War crimes accusations rarely amount to much, say skeptics. Some believe that the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the basis for today鈥檚 humanitarian laws, are insufficient and 鈥渟eem almost quaint鈥� in today鈥檚 warfare conditions, Prof. John Ciorciari of the University of Michigan told last year.

Israel is often pointed to as an example of a country frequently accused of war crimes, yet seemingly suffering few consequences.

In 2014, during Israel鈥檚 summer war in Gaza, by Israel鈥檚 shelling of a UN school where 3,000 Gazans took refuge, saying that Israel was well aware of its location and needed to do 鈥渕ore to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties.鈥�