Lebanon/ PNN

The World Health Organization announced on Saturday that the Israeli aggression has led to the closure of five hospitals and 100 healthcare centers in Lebanon.

This comes amid ongoing Israeli escalation against the healthcare sector in Lebanon, which is prohibited by numerous international agreements.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in a post on X: "Out of 207 primary healthcare centers in conflict areas in Lebanon, 100 have been closed due to the escalation of violence."

He added: "Five hospitals have also been closed due to structural damage caused by the attacks."

Ghebreyesus emphasized the "urgent need to stop attacks on Lebanese healthcare workers, which have resulted in the deaths of nearly 100 people."

He noted: "The number of injuries (from the Israeli aggression) is increasing, and the healthcare system (in Lebanon) is struggling to cope due to limited human and material resources."

Ghebreyesus called for "urgent protection for patients and healthcare workers in Lebanon."

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, as of May, there were 311 primary healthcare centers in Lebanon, meaning about one-third are now out of service due to Israeli aggression.

Many international agreements criminalize targeting medical personnel and facilities during conflicts, including Article 12 of the Additional First Protocol to Geneva Conventions of 1977, which emphasizes the "need to respect and protect medical units, both mobile and fixed, at all times."

Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 states that "civil hospitals organized for the care of the wounded and sick must not be attacked and must be respected and protected by all parties to the conflict."

Furthermore, Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court considers "intentional attacks against medical units or personnel as a war crime, especially when they are performing duties under international humanitarian law."

Since September 23, Israel has expanded its campaign of genocide in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, to include most areas of Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut, through unprecedented aerial bombardments in terms of violence and intensity, and has begun a ground incursion in the south, disregarding international warnings and UN resolutions.

These bombings have resulted, as of Saturday evening, in 1,437 martyrs and 4,123 injured, including many women and children, and more than 1.34 million displaced persons, according to Anadolu's monitoring of official Lebanese data.

Hezbollah responds daily with rockets, drones, and artillery shells targeting military sites and settlements. While Israel discloses some of its human and material losses, military censorship imposes strict secrecy on most losses, according to observers.