Rhino: Agencies – More than 100 medical and emergency workers have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah group began a year ago, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Friday.
The conflict in Lebanon erupted when the Iranian-backed group began firing into Israel in support of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) at the start of the Gaza war. Fighting has flared up in the past few weeks with Israel shelling parts of Beirut.
“In total, more than 100 medical and emergency workers have been killed across Lebanon since October last year,” UNHCR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a UN press briefing, citing figures she said were compiled by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“We have also received several reports of airstrikes on other medical centers and the killing of paramedics as well as firefighters.”
Since September 17, there have been 18 attacks on health facilities in Lebanon, killing 72 medical workers, World Health Organization Spokesman Christian Lindemeyer said.