From bombed ambulances to rescuers killed mid-mission, testimonies and data reveal how frontline medics in Lebanon are being caught and targeted by Israel.
Over the past weeks, mounting evidence from health authorities, journalists, and human rights organisations points to a pattern: health workers, ambulances, and medical facilities are repeatedly being hit in Israeli attacks across Lebanon, a trend similar to the playbook Israelis used in Gaza when they decimated the health infrastructure.
Since early March, at least 40 health workers have been killed and 96 injured,accordingto Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.Reporting byThe GuardiancitesLebanese health authorities saying that at least 128 medical facilities and ambulances have been struck since early March.The World Health Organization said on Saturday that nine paramedics were killed and seven others wounded in five separate attacks on health care in southern Lebanon.The latest incidents struck medical teams in five separate villages, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post.He added that the repeated strikes have severely disrupted health services in southern Lebanon. Four hospitals and 51 primary healthcare centres are now closed, with several other facilities operating at reduced capacity, he said.Amnesty InternationalstatesIsrael has “repeatedly and unlawfully attacked health facilities and medical teams”.Israelclaimssome ambulances are used for militant activity, but Amnestysaysno evidence was found in the investigated cases. The Lebanese Ministry of Health alsodeniedthe claim. The Israeli military had made a similar claim in 2024.Field reports from health workers and investigationsdescribea recurring pattern in southern Lebanon, where an initial air strike hits a civilian area, emergency responders rush to the scene, and then a second strike follows shortly after. It is called a double-tap strike.This sequence places paramedics, ambulance crews, and rescuers directly in harm’s way at the moment they are trying to save lives. The effect is not only deadly but also deterrent, turning rescue work itself into a high-risk target.Abdullah Nour el-Din, a rescue coordinator in southern Lebanon, toldThe Guardian: “We have seen what look like double-tap strikes – striking, waiting for paramedics, then striking again.”He described incidents where first responders were hit while actively saving lives. “They were putting out a blaze and were hit again… they were rescuing civilians when they were attacked.”“The Israeli enemy is trying as much as possible to prevent life in our region and push people to flee. Our role is to help people, to stand by them and to provide services so they can remain on their land,” said Nour el-Din.This pattern is not limited to the current escalation.Other testimonies from health care workers reinforce how routine and normalised the risk has become. Hussein Moshawrab, who lost colleagues in a strike on a rescue centre, recalled speaking to them moments before they were killed.“I did a video call with them at iftar… The next time I saw them was when they were under the rubble.”“Israel is deploying the same deadly playbook it used in 2024 in Lebanon to kill dozens of health workers and devastate healthcare services. Amnesty International’s past research highlighted how the Israeli military repeatedly carried out unlawful attacks on health facilities and health workers during the 2024 escalation and we called for these to be investigated as war crimes,”saidKristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.“The Israeli military has also repeatedly and unlawfully attacked health facilities and medical teams in Gaza, as part of a broader pattern of devastating essential services. There has yet to be any accountability or redress for those violations, and now we’re seeing healthcare workers once again killed and wounded,” the Amnesty official said.Under international humanitarian law, doctors, paramedics, and hospitals are protected. Attacks on them can constitute war crimes. Amnesty states these strikes should be investigated as potential war crimes.Israel had killed more than 4,000 people and wounded around 17,000 during an offensive in Lebanon that began in October 2023 and escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024.Despite a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah since November 2024, Israel has continued near-daily violations that have left hundreds dead and wounded.
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