At least 26 paramedics have been killed and 51 others injured in ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Saturday, Anadolu reports.
In a statement, the ministry said the Israeli army has repeatedly targeted ambulance crews while they were carrying out rescue missions since the start of the offensive.
It added that an Israeli strike on Friday targeted a primary health care center in the southern town of Burj Qalaouiyah, a facility that operates within a nationwide network of health centers coordinated with civil society groups and supervised by the Health Ministry.
According to the statement, the attack killed 12 workers at the center, while search operations are ongoing for four missing persons.
The ministry said the total number of paramedics killed since March 2 has reached 26, with 51 others wounded, describing the figures as “evidence of the violent practices of the Israeli army.”
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It also said that the attacks have, for the first time since October 2023, targeted personnel from the Lebanese Red Cross.
The ministry stressed that targeting ambulances violates international law and the Geneva Conventions, which guarantee protection for medical workers and health care facilities during armed conflicts.
Hezbollah began targeting Israeli military sites on March 2 in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, as well as Israeli attacks on Lebanon, despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024.
Israel expanded its campaign the same day with airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and areas in southern and eastern Lebanon.
On March 3, Israel also launched a limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon, along with the ongoing joint military campaign with the US against Iran that started on Feb 28.
Lebanese authorities said Thursday that Israel’s expanded attacks have killed 733 people, injured 1,933, and displaced 822,000.
