Four hospitals in Lebanon declares shut down amid Israeli bombing

Lebanon: Amidst the continuous Israeli shelling, at least four hospitals in Lebanon said on Friday, October 4, that they would be closing. Rescuers associated with Hezbollah reported that 11 workers had perished in Israeli attacks in the southern region of Lebanon.

Following the deaths of several dozen emergency workers in recent days, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati asked the international community to put pressure on Israel “to allow rescue and relief teams to reach bombed sites and allow them to move” wounded.

Hospital Services Halted

The official National News Agency (NNA) issued a statement from Sainte Therese medical, which is located on the edge of Beirut’s southern suburbs. The statement described “huge damage” and said that “Israeli warplanes’ targeting… the vicinity” of the institution on Thursday “led to the halt of hospital services.”.

The Mais al-Jabal hospital in South Lebanon, which borders Israel, declared “the halt to work of all departments” due to a number of issues, including “enemy targeting of the hospital” since October of last year and issues with personnel and supply routes.

The remarks were made in a NNA statement as well.

According to Mouenes Kalakesh, director of the Marjayoun governmental hospital in south Lebanon, “an Israeli air strike targeted ambulances at the main entrance to the hospital,”  killing paramedics who were transporting injured patients to the facility.

Situated fewer than 10 km from the border, he said that “staff shortages and today’s bombardment have forced the closure of the hospital.”.

According to the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee emergency service, four more emergency workers were murdered in two strikes in south Lebanon, and seven emergency personnel perished in “direct Zionist aggression on emergency teams” at the Marjayoun hospital.

Not a Single Analyst

“In recent days, we have observed the increasing use of rescue vehicles by Hezbollah members to transport operatives and equipment for fighting,” said Israeli army spokeswoman Avichay Adraee, speaking in Arabic, on Friday on X.

“Hezbollah uses ambulances from the Islamic Health Committee for terrorist purposes,”  he said, adding that “any vehicle proven to have an armed operative using it… will be subjected to appropriate measures.”.

The Salah Ghandour hospital grounds in Bint Jbeil were reportedly “subject to Israeli artillery shelling” later on Friday, according to a report from the NNA.

The hospital was evacuated, according to Mohammed Sleiman, head of the Islamic Health Committee-run establishment, who told AFP that seven medical staff members were hurt when the institution was hit “directly.”

For over a year, Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have been engaging in almost daily cross-border gunfire. The Iranian-backed organization claims to be assisting Hamas, the Palestinian ally, in the Gaza conflict.

Israel says it is stepping up its shelling of Hezbollah in an attempt to secure the northern region of Israel so that displaced people may return there. Since September 23.

An AFP count of official numbers shows that the attack has claimed the lives of around 1,110 people and caused up to one million to be homeless.

Because so many people had gone, the Marjayoun hospital had been running “without an anesthesiologist and laboratory specialists, for four days,” according to Kalakesh.

Hezbollah claimed earlier on Friday that an Israeli attack at the scene of an air raid in south Beirut during the night killed a rescuer.

According to Firass Abiad, Lebanon’s minister of health, 97 rescuers have lost their lives since Israel and Hezbollah started fighting in October of last year.

He noted that in only three days, Israeli fire claimed the lives of almost 40 firemen and paramedics.