BEIRUT — Lebanon says more than 50 health workers have been killed in the current fighting with Israel, reporting at least 54 medics among over 1,400 people killed. The deaths have intensified accusations from Lebanese officials and rights groups that first responders and medical facilities are being deliberately struck; Israel rejects those claims.
One of the recent casualties was Youssef Assaf, a volunteer paramedic with the Lebanese Red Cross, killed by an Israeli airstrike on March 9 while responding to an earlier strike in Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon. His funeral in Tyre drew hundreds of fellow first responders. The Red Cross says it followed its routine practice of sending ambulance coordinates via U.N. channels that relay them to Israeli forces. After Assaf’s death, the organization filed a complaint through that channel but received no response, the Red Cross emergency director said.
Israeli military officials told reporters they targeted what they described as a “Hezbollah military-use building” at the site and said some people arrived in the seconds between munitions being fired and impact. Israel maintains Red Cross personnel were not intentionally targeted and said its forces were unaware of their presence in that area. Israeli statements also point to the laws of war but argue that protections for health workers can be lost if ambulances or medical facilities are misused, accusing Hezbollah of exploiting medical services and civilian infrastructure, including allegations of transporting weapons in ambulances.
Observers and some Lebanese officials say the pattern of strikes is worrying. Former Lebanese health minister Dr. Firass Abiad told reporters he sees a concerted pattern of targeting “healthcare personnel, first responders and healthcare facilities,” noting that when about 10 first responders are killed within roughly 24 hours it becomes difficult to view each incident as accidental. Lebanon’s government and the World Health Organization reported that 10 health workers were killed across March 28-29. Lebanon’s health minister, Rakan Nassereddine, has said he is compiling a legal file to present to the U.N. Security Council.
Human Rights Watch has urged caution about drawing final conclusions on every incident but notes precedents of intentional strikes on health workers in past conflicts. HRW researchers point to investigations in Gaza and Lebanon documenting attacks on paramedics, ambulances and hospitals, saying such strikes can amount to apparent war crimes when there is no evidence of military use. Amnesty International has similarly accused Israel of a pattern of unlawful attacks on health infrastructure. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for attacks on health facilities to stop immediately, warning that such strikes must not become normal.
Aid and medical actors say the situation is complicated by the existence of ambulance services run by armed groups. A large share of the first responders killed recently belonged to services operated by Islamic political factions, including Hezbollah, which runs its own ambulance network and, unlike the Red Cross, does not provide movement coordinates to Israel. Mohammed Farhat, operations director for the Islamic Health Authority, described what he and others call “double-tap” strikes — an initial strike followed by a second hit after first responders arrive — and said his teams have adjusted procedures to reduce risk, such as sending smaller assessment teams. He denied claims that his ambulances carry weapons.
Israeli officials have repeatedly accused Hezbollah of blending military assets with civilian services and say that alleged misuse can change the legal protections afforded to medical personnel and facilities. Rights groups dispute broad assertions that all affected health services are military assets and call for independent, transparent investigations into each incident.
At the Lebanese Red Cross dispatch center in southern Beirut, staff say they handle about 1,500 calls a day. Lead dispatcher George Ghafary described staying on the line with callers until ambulances arrive and tracking teams by GPS and radio once they are dispatched. He spoke of the emotional strain: the crews are colleagues and friends, and while he tries to hide his worry, it is persistent. As medics continue to answer distress calls under fire, dispatchers cling to the hope that teams’ radios and phones won’t fall silent.