JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - The World Health Organization has called on warring parties in Lebanon to stop attacks on hospitals an health care workers in Lebanon.
Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean has called for an immediate ceasefire.
'The situation in Lebanon is alarming. Attacks on health care debilitate health systems and impede their ability to continue to perform. They also prevent entire communities from accessing health services when they need them the most,' he said in a statement.
WHO said that since the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah on September 17, 23 attacks on health care in Lebanon have led to 72 deaths and 43 injuries among health workers and patients.
Hospitals in Lebanon are already under massive strain as they strive to sustain essential health services while dealing with an unprecedented influx of injured people. Understaffed and under-resourced, the health system has been struggling to maintain uninterrupted services to all those in need with supplies being depleted and health workers exhausted.
Increasing conflict, intense bombardment and insecurity are forcing a growing number of health facilities to shut down, particularly in the south. Out of 207 primary health care centres and dispensaries in conflict-affected areas, 100 are now closed. Hospitals have had to close or evacuate due to structural damage or their proximity to areas of intense bombardment. Five hospitals in Lebanon have been evacuated and another 5 partially evacuated, with critical cancer and dialysis patients referred to other hospitals also overwhelmed by increasing health needs.
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