Firass Abiad, Lebanon’s Health Minister, considered these Israeli attacks “direct and intentional”, calling them a “war crime.” 163 first responders died and 272 were injured in one year.
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Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad revealed this Friday that 163 first responders and caregivers died in Israeli attacks in the country, more than a year after clashes on the border between Israel and Hezbollah intensified.
Abiad declared, in a press conference, that until now The total number of caregivers and rescuers killed in the Israeli attacks is 163, in addition to 272 wounded.
The Lebanese minister considered these attacks “direct and intentional” and described them as a “war crime.”
Abiad also stated that the Israeli attacks affected 55 hospitals, 36 of which were “direct targets,” leading to the “forced closure of eight” hospitals.
And, according to the minister, the bodies of eight rescuers killed in Israeli attacks on their three ambulances could not be recovered, near border towns where fighting is taking place between the Shiite group Hezbollah and the Israeli army, which carries out ground raids.
“The Israeli enemy even refused to allow us to recover the bodies for two weeks.“Abiad said.
Six firefighters remain buried under rubble elsewhere in southern Lebanon, he added.
Israel also attacked 158 ambulances, 57 fire trucks and 15 rescue vehicles, according to the minister.
The Israeli army accuses rescue teams from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee of transporting fighters and weapons in their ambulances, a situation the group denies.
After nearly a year of cross-border shootings, Israel launched a massive bombing campaign across Lebanon on September 23, entering into open war with Hezbollah, and subsequently began ground incursions into Lebanon.
Since September 23, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 1,580 people, according to a study conducted by the AFP news agency using data from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, and have displaced more than a million people. throughout the country.
Source: Observadora
