The Israeli occupation’s aggression has resulted in the closure of 5 hospitals and 100 healthcare centers in Lebanon, as announced by the World Health Organization.
This comes amidst a continued Israeli escalation in the aggression against the healthcare sector in Lebanon, a violation condemned by numerous international agreements.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated in a statement on the WHO platform that “out of 207 primary healthcare centers in conflict areas in Lebanon, 100 centers have been closed due to escalating violence.”
He continued, “Additionally, 5 hospitals have been closed due to the structural damage resulting from the attacks.”
Ghebreyesus emphasized the “necessity of halting attacks on healthcare workers in Lebanon, which have led to the deaths of approximately 100 individuals.”
He added that “the number of casualties (due to the Israeli aggression) is rising, and the healthcare system (in Lebanon) is struggling to cope with the situation due to limited human and material resources,” urging for “urgent protection for patients and healthcare workers in Lebanon.”
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health figures from last May, the number of primary healthcare centers in Lebanon was 311, indicating that around one-third of them are now out of service due to the Israeli aggression.
Many international agreements prohibit targeting medical personnel and facilities during wars, including Article 12 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1977, which emphasizes the “necessity to respect and protect mobile and fixed medical units at all times.”
Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 states that “civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick may in no circumstances be the object of attack and shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.”
Furthermore, Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court considers “intentionally directing attacks against medical units or personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international humanitarian law” a war crime.
Since September 23rd of last year, the Israeli occupation has expanded the genocide it has been committing in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to include many areas in Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut, through unprecedentedly violent and intense aerial bombardments, as well as beginning ground incursions in its south, disregarding international warnings and UN resolutions.
As of Saturday evening, these airstrikes have resulted in 1,437 fatalities and 4,123 injuries, including a significant number of women and children, with over 1.34 million displaced individuals.
