KABUL, Afghanistan — On Sunday morning, as Taliban officials in Qatar began discussing with an Afghan delegation the need to reduce civilian casualties, more than a hundred schoolchildren were wounded during a Taliban attack in eastern Afghanistan.

Early Tuesday morning, Afghan commandos raided a hospital in central Afghanistan, reportedly killing four hospital employees — just after the Taliban and Afghans released a joint declaration promising to “minimize civilian casualties to zero.”

The two attacks underscored a sobering reality in Afghanistan: Public pledges to spare civilians mean little as long as the combatants seek leverage by continuing attacks that endanger innocent bystanders. As negotiations inch toward a possible peace deal, those commitments will be tested daily on the ground.

The unprecedented joint declaration on civilian casualties came after the Taliban met for the first time with Afghan officials, face to face in a luxury hotel ballroom. The so-called intra-Afghan dialogue was followed Tuesday by a pause in the seventh round of peace talks between the United States and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.