INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
At least four hospitals in Lebanon announced on Friday that they were suspending work because of Israeli strikes, while a
Hezbollah-affiliated health organisation said that 11 paramedics had been killed in the past 24 hours.The four closures capped two weeks of
Israeli strikes on hospitals and healthcare workers in Lebanon that have shuttered at least 37 facilities and killed dozens of medical
staff, according to the World Health Organisation.Late on Friday night, the Israeli army issued a statement alleging that Hezbollah was
using medical vehicles to transport fighters and weapons, warning that it would strike any vehicle it suspected of being used for military
purposes.Hospital staff in southern Lebanon told the BBC that health facilities treating wounded civilians had been hit with direct Israeli
The BBC has approached the IDF for comment.Dr Mounes Kalakish, director of the Marjayoun governmental hospital in southern Lebanon, told the
was sitting at the front of the building when the strike happened
She said that she heard the cries of the paramedics who were hit and ran towards the damaged ambulances, but was warned to stay back by
colleagues fearful of a follow up strike.The Marjayoun hospital had already been hanging on by a thread, Dr Mazraani said, with a core team
We had 45 inpatient beds, all now empty
We were the only hospital providing dialysis in the region, for example
evacuate.The Israeli army said it was targeting a mosque adjacent to the hospital which it claimed was being used by Hezbollah fighters.The
strikes on healthcare facilities have not been limited to the south of Lebanon
Israel hit a medical centre in central Beirut on Thursday belonging to the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Organisation, killing nine and
in a strike on a convoy evacuating patients, despite the organisation co-ordinating with the Israeli army.Gabriel Karlsson, country manager
Organisation director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday that 28 healthcare workers had been killed in Lebanon over the
previous 24 hours, and many other healthcare staff were no longer reporting for work because of the strikes.Dr Kalakish, the director of the
Marjayoun hospital, told the BBC that prior to the strike that closed his hospital it was already operating with no anaesthesiologist or
other specialists.Some staff had fled the bombardment for their own safety, he said, while others had been prevented from reaching the
this past week, he said.Source: BBC--Agencies
