Alison

More tragedy in southern Lebanon today, with nine paramedics killed in five attacks on health care, taking the number of health personnel killed this month to 51. Seven medics were wounded in the strikes. March has been the second most deadly month for health workers in Lebanon since @WHO started monitoring attacks on health care in the country in October 2023. More than 120 health workers have also been reportedly wounded since the escalation began in Lebanon on 2 March, overwhelmingly in the country’s south. In today's incidents, teams of medics working in five Lebanese villages were struck while on duty in the field. In Zoutar al-Sharqiya, five health workers were killed in a strike and two were injured, one critically. Two more health workers were killed and three wounded in Kfar Tibnit; one paramedic died in an attack at a health facility in Ghandouriyeh, while another was killed in a strike in Jezzine. Two were wounded in an attack on Kfar Dajjal. The repeated attacks on health care are severely disrupting the delivery of services in southern Lebanon. Four hospitals and 51 primary health care centres are now closed, significantly limiting access to essential care at a time when it is most needed. Several other health facilities have sustained partial damage and are operating at reduced capacity. Health workers are protected under international humanitarian law and should never be targeted. The only way to end these tragedies is to end attacks on health care, NOW!