Middle East

Four Lebanese hospitals suspend services amid Israeli bombing

NO ANAESTHESIOLOGIST

Israeli army Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Friday on X that “in recent days, we have observed the increasing use of rescue vehicles by Hezbollah members to transport operatives and equipment for fighting”.

“Hezbollah uses ambulances from the Islamic Health Committee for terrorist purposes”, he said, warning that “any vehicle proven to have an armed operative using it … will be subjected to appropriate measures”.

Later Friday, the NNA reported that the grounds of the Salah Ghandour hospital in Bint Jbeil were “subject to Israeli artillery shelling”.

Mohammed Sleiman, director of the Islamic Health Committee-run facility, told AFP that seven medical personnel were wounded when the hospital was struck “directly”, adding that the facility was evacuated.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire for almost a year, with the Iran-backed group saying it is acting in support of Palestinian ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

Israel, saying it is targeting Hezbollah in an effort to make Israel’s northern area safe for the return of displaced people, has intensified its bombardment campaign since September 23.

The bombing has killed more than 1,110 people, according to an AFP tally of official figures, and displaced up to one million, according to officials.

The Marjayoun hospital had been operating “for four days without an anaesthesiologist and laboratory specialists, because many people have fled”, Kalakesh said.

Earlier Friday, Hezbollah said an Israeli strike killed a rescuer at the site of an overnight air raid in south Beirut.

On Thursday, Lebanon’s health minister Firass Abiad said 97 rescuers had been killed since Hezbollah and Israel began fighting last October.

Among that number are more than 40 paramedics and firefighters killed by Israeli fire in just three days, he said.

Related Articles

Back to top button