Israeli strike kills 12 healthcare workers in southern Lebanon

Israel killed 12 medical workers in a strike on a medical centre in south Lebanon on Friday night, bringing the toll of healthcare staff killed in the country by Israel to 31 over the past 12 days. A primary healthcare facility in the town of Burj Qalaouiyah was hit by an Israeli strike late on Friday, setting it ablaze and causing the structure to collapse on top of the staff inside. The strike killed doctors, paramedics and nurses on duty, according to the Lebanese ministry of health, which said it “violated all international humanitarian laws” in a statement. Human rights groups have said that any attacks on medical workers are a war crime, regardless of their political affiliation. Commenting on the deaths of the 12 medical workers and two paramedics killed earlier in the day in an attack on a health facility in Al Sowana, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “The killings in the last 24 hours of 14 health workers in southern Lebanon mark a tragic development in the escalating Middle East crisis.” Israel has carried out at least 37 attacks against healthcare workers and facilities in Lebanon, including against the state civil defence and Lebanese Red Cross, since the current hostilities began, Lebanese authorities said. The war in Lebanon started on 2 March after Hezbollah launched a volley of rockets at Israel, triggering a swift Israeli bombing campaign across the country. Fighting has since escalated, with Hezbollah continuing its rocket fire and Israeli troops invading south Lebanon. At least 826 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes, according to the ministry of health, and about 1 million have been displaced. On Saturday morning, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee accused Hezbollah of using ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes, and said that Israeli forces would “act in accordance with international law” if Hezbollah did not stop. The spokesperson gave no credible evidence for his claim. The Lebanese ministry of health denied the Israeli army’s claim that ambulances are being used for military purposes, calling it “nothing more than a justification for the crimes it is committing against humanity”, in a statement. During the 13-month Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, Israel also accused Hezbollah of using ambulances for military purposes, again without credible evidence. It also killed 408 healthcare workers. Israel was accused of war crimes for its attacks on Gaza’s healthcare facilities during its two-year war on the strip by a UN commission of inquiry. A top prosecutor at the international criminal court said in 2024 that claims about the presence of Hamas fighters in hospitals in Gaza under siege by Israel’s military have been “grossly exaggerated”. Gaza’s healthcare system has been largely destroyed by sustained Israeli attacks. Humanitarian groups have warned the accusation by the Israeli military that Hezbollah is using healthcare centres for military purposes could be used as a justification for further attacks on such facilities in Lebanon. Under international humanitarian law, medical workers, regardless of political affiliation, are considered civilians and enjoy protected status.