GENEVA: Nearly 230 health workers have been killed in Lebanon since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, following the October 7 attacks last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
In total, the UN health agency reported 187 attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon during the more than 13 months Israeli airstrikes.
Between October 7, 2023, and November 18, 2024, “there have been 226 deaths and 199 injuries in total,” said Abdinasir Abubakar, the WHO representative in Lebanon, via video link from Beirut.
He added that “almost 70 percent” of these fatalities occurred since tensions escalated into full-scale war in September.
Describing the situation as “an extremely worrying pattern,” Abubakar emphasised that “depriving civilians of access to lifesaving care and targeting health providers is a breach of international humanitarian law.”
Abubakar said that a hallmark of the conflict in Lebanon has been its devastating impact on healthcare, with 47 percent of these attacks proving fatal to at least one health worker or patient— the highest percentage of any ongoing conflict today.
By comparison, he said only 13.3 percent of attacks on healthcare globally resulted in fatalities during the same period, referencing data from conflict zones such as Ukraine, Sudan, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Abubakar speculated that the high fatality rate in Lebanon could be linked to the fact that “more ambulances have been targeted.” He explained that when an ambulance is hit, it often results in the deaths of multiple paramedics— “three, four, or five.”
The ongoing conflict has further strained Lebanon’s already fragile healthcare system, which has been grappling with a series of crises in recent years.
WHO warned that 15 out of Lebanon’s 153 hospitals have ceased operations or are only partially functioning.
Today, the country’s health system is under extreme duress, with 15 out of 153 hospitals having ceased to operate, or only partially functioning.
Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, emphasised that “attacks on healthcare of this scale cripple a health system when those whose lives depend on it need it the most.”
She added that, beyond the loss of life, the death of health workers represents a loss of years of investment and a critical resource for Lebanon’s future.
WHO in a statement said that so far this year, between 1 January 2024 and 18 November 2024, a total of 1246 attacks on health care were registered globally, in 13 countries or territories, killing 730 health workers and patients and injuring 1255. – AFP with additional inputs from WHO.
