WHO: Nearly 230 health workers killed in Lebanon amid escalating conflict
Paramedics arrive at the site of an Israeli strike on the Mount Lebanon village of Maaysra, east of the Christian coastal town of Byblos, on September 25, 2024. - Lebanon said 15 people were killed in Israeli strikes on September 25, including two rare strikes in mountain areas outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds in the south and east. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that 226 health workers have been killed in Lebanon since the onset of Israel’s war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, attacks.
Over the past 13 months, cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah has led to 187 recorded attacks on health care in Lebanon, causing widespread devastation to the country’s fragile health system.
Speaking from Beirut, WHO representative Abdinasir Abubakar noted that nearly 70 percent of these fatalities occurred since tensions escalated into full-scale war in September 2024.
He described this as an “extremely worrying pattern,” condemning the targeting of health workers and facilities as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Abubakar highlighted that 47 percent of healthcare attacks in Lebanon resulted in at least one fatality—far higher than the global average of 13.3 percent in conflict zones such as Ukraine, Sudan, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
He attributed this stark disparity to the targeting of ambulances, which often results in multiple casualties among paramedics and patients.
The conflict has compounded Lebanon’s ongoing health care crisis, with 15 of its 153 hospitals now closed or partially operational.
WHO regional director Hanan Balkhy warned that such large-scale attacks cripple health systems when they are needed most, adding that the loss of health workers represents a devastating setback for Lebanon’s recovery efforts.
