Hospitals, health care workers under attack in Lebanon: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that hospitals and health care workers are under attack in Lebanon as war intensifies between Israel and Hezbollah.

The WHO said it verified 23 attacks on health care resulting in 72 deaths and 43 injuries among health care workers and patients as of Sept. 17, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Fifteen of the 23 attacks affected health care facilities, and 13 of the 23 impacted health transport, according to the WHO.

The global health agency warned the health care system in Lebanon is already understaffed and under-resourced, and that hospitals are already under a "massive strain" as they deal with an influx of injured people.

"The situation in Lebanon is alarming. Attacks on health care debilitate health systems and impede their ability to continue to perform," Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said in a statement Wednesday. "They also prevent entire communities from accessing health services when they need them the most."

"WHO is working tirelessly with the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon to address critical gaps and support the continuity of essential health services, but what people of Lebanon need most is an immediate ceasefire," the statement continued.

Over the course of Israel's more than year-long war with Hamas, Hezbollah has launched several rockets at northern Israel and in Golan Heights, which is occupied by Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted air strikes in return and, in mid-September, launched an attack in which thousands of handheld pagers across Lebanon and Syria exploded in a coordinated attack against Hezbollah members. A second wave saw hundreds of walkie-talkies explode.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office added the return of displaced northern residents in the country's list of wartime goals. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told U.S. officials in September that “military action” is the “only way” to end the ongoing attacks and return displaced citizens home,

At least six hospitals are now out of service, and five more are partially operating, UNICEF said, citing the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. The WHO said critical cancer and dialysis patients have been referred to other hospitals, which are overwhelmed by treating injured patients.

The WHO said that out of 207 primary health care centers and dispensaries in areas affected by the conflict, at least 100 are now closed.

The agency called for attacks on health care to stop and for facilities and workers to be protected.

Meanwhile, UNICEF is warning that children in Lebanon are at increased risk of health issues -- including diarrhea, cholera and hepatitis -- as health care facilities and water systems have been destroyed.

UNICEF said it has already received reports of scabies and lice among children who are in shelters. The agency added it is worried respiratory diseases could soon spread.

"As the frequency and intensity of the bombardments in Lebanon increases, extensive damage to essential infrastructure has been recorded and dozens of medical personnel and essential service personnel have been killed," UNICEF Lebanon representative Edouard Beigbeder said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This is disastrous for every child in Lebanon. In line with international humanitarian law, humanitarian personnel and essential service providers must be protected as they deliver lifesaving support to families and children in precarious conditions and civilian infrastructure must be safeguarded," the statement continued.

It comes as the IDF conducted an air strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the first airstrike in the capital in five days.

As of Wednesday, a total of 2,367 people have been killed and 11,088 have been wounded since the start of the fighting, the Ministry of Public Health said in a post on the social platform X.