Since Israel started its “new” war against Lebanon at the beginning of the month, over 1,000 people have been killed. The formal numbers from the Lebanese Health Ministry say that includes 79 women, 118 children, and at least 40 healthcare workers.
The healthcare workers are a growing problem, as Amnesty International issued a new report today calling on Israel to stop deliberately attacking hospitals and ambulances, noting that the IDF claims them to be used for military purposes but provides no evidence that this is actually the case.
“Israel is deploying the same deadly playbook it used in 2024 in Lebanon to kill dozens of health workers and devastate healthcare services,” noted Amnesty’s Kristine Beckerle, adding that Israel never properly investigated such violations during the previous war, and now is right back to doing the same thing in the current conflict.
Aftermath of bombing on health center in Burj Qalawiyeh | Image from Reuters
The WHO had similarly issued a statement a few days ago faulting Israel for deliberate attacks on hospitals and ambulances, after a Friday attack on a hospital in Burj Qalawiyeh left 17 staff members dead. While that remains the largest single incident against a hospital of the current war, it is by no means the only one, and there is no indication that the strikes are slowing down.
With well over a million civilians now displaced by the Israeli invasion, key humanitarian organizer Marwan Sehnaoui warns that Lebanon is facing an increasingly catastrophic situation, noting that 20% of the population is now displaced but there isn’t a clear answer for where to put them all since the attacks are hitting effectively the whole country.
The IDF has ordered the entire population out of the area south of the Litani River, and subsequently urged evacuation north of the Zahrani River, indicating yesterday that they intended to start blowing up bridges across the Litani. Further evacuation orders are in place in several other areas, including suburbs of Beirut.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says that the plan is they are satisfied the situation in northern Israel is fully secure. Open-ended displacement of a civilian population and discrimination based on religion for who is allowed to return both amount to significant crimes under international law.
Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam says the country didn’t seek to get dragged into the regional war and that they are ready for negotiations at any time, believing the US to be the key to getting such talks going. Israel, however, has reportedly refused negotiations, and the US is reportedly trying to convince Syria to invade Lebanon as well.
