BEIRUT AP — On Friday, Israel’s military launched an unannounced airstrike near a hospital in southern Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of seven paramedics and prompting the facility to close, according to the hospital director. This incident marks one of the deadliest attacks on health workers amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Mounes Kalakesh, the director of Marjayoun hospital, described the chaotic scene, where the strike blew off hospital doors and shattered windows. He noted that even prior to the attack, ambulance crews in the area were hesitant to operate, leading to a lack of patients in the hospital for several days. “We have not been able to work. There was fear and panic among the staff,” he stated.
Kalakesh added that the hospital had received no warning from Israeli forces before the attack, even though nearby villages had been alerted to evacuate. While Israel has not commented on this specific incident, the attack occurred shortly after an Israeli military spokesperson accused Hezbollah of using ambulances to transport weapons and fighters, a claim that lacks supporting evidence.
Lebanese officials, including Kalakesh, have rejected this assertion, with Lebanon’s health minister condemning the attack as a war crime against medical personnel. The health ministry reported that over three days, 40 paramedics, firefighters, and healthcare workers were killed in Israeli strikes, compounding the challenges faced in treating the wounded amidst ongoing fighting. Since the onset of the Gaza war, more than 100 health workers have reportedly lost their lives due to the escalating violence.
The paramedics from the Islamic Health Committee are part of a coordinated effort to respond to health crises in Lebanon. Other civil defense teams have also raised alarms about their safety, noting they have been targeted while clearly marked and engaged in rescue operations.
Kalakesh described the tragedy of paramedics dying in their burning vehicles, highlighting the unprecedented proximity of Israeli strikes to Marjayoun hospital. Consequently, he decided to evacuate the staff for their safety. At the time of the strike, 30 staff members were present, already exhausted from working near the front lines for the past year.
Concerns for the safety of medical personnel continue to mount. On Thursday, a Lebanese Red Cross convoy, escorted by Lebanese soldiers and coordinated with the U.N. peacekeeping force, came under fire, resulting in one soldier’s death and injuries to four Red Cross volunteers. In separate incidents on the same day, Israeli strikes targeted rescue teams in Beirut’s southern suburbs and the village of Odeissah, killing at least four.
In Odeissah, ambulances responding to the initial attack were hit, leading to the deaths of three medics who had rushed to assist their injured colleagues. In Beirut’s southern suburbs, a drone strike targeted a team clearing rubble from an airstrike, resulting in one driver’s death and seven injuries, according to Islamic Health Committee spokesperson Mahmoud Karaki. He emphasized that attacks on the healthcare sector undermine the public’s safety, reporting that 145 members of his team have been injured over the past year.
The Lebanese health ministry has documented damage to nine hospitals and 45 healthcare centers amid the ongoing violence. Just hours after the attack near Marjayoun hospital, another facility in Bint Jbeil was shelled by Israeli forces after receiving evacuation orders, injuring nine medical staff, most of them seriously. This hospital, too, was subsequently forced to close due to the extensive damage.