Three hospitals in southern Lebanon have been attacked by Israel in under a week, killing nine people and wounding more than 150, most of them medical staff, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The strikes hit near the public hospital in Tebnine on Wednesday, following attacks near the Hiram and Jabal Amel hospitals in Tyre.
The strike on Monday near Jabal Amel killed four people and injured 127, the majority of whom were healthcare workers. Wael Mroueh, the hospital’s director, described the event as a catastrophe, saying the blast levelled a building directly in front of the facility, knocked out its electricity and damaged the intensive care unit. “I never expected something like this to happen,” he said.
The World Health Organization said the attacks had deprived the most vulnerable patients of care in an area where health services were already critically constrained. Abdinasir Abubakar, the WHO representative in Lebanon, called for the attacks to stop. The hospitals are among the few remaining functional healthcare facilities in south Lebanon, a region experiencing mass displacement.
At least 130 medical workers have been killed and 162 ambulances or healthcare facilities struck since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel began on 2 March, the Lebanese health ministry reported. Israel said it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Tyre and that the hospital was affected incidentally, but accused Hezbollah of taking over one of the hospitals in Tebnine. The Lebanese health ministry dismissed the accusation as a fabrication.
Despite the damage, Jabal Amel hospital resumed operations, continuing to receive patients and perform deliveries. Mroueh noted that none of the doctors or nurses left. Analysts and human rights experts have said attacking healthcare facilities and workers constitutes a war crime.
