Beirut: The Israeli airstrikes targeting several towns in the South and Beqaa in Lebanon have resulted in the fall of dozens of fatalities and injuries, Lebanese Health Minister Dr. Rakan Nassereddine said, expressing his profound apprehension over the persistent increase in the number of victims.
In a press conference today, he clarified that reports indicate 394 fatalities, including 83 children, and 1,130 injuries as a result of the Israeli aggression against Lebanon since last Monday, noting that emergency teams continue their work despite the significant risks and under extremely difficult conditions to rescue the injured and provide medical aid to the victims.
Nassereddine highlighted that direct targeting of medical personnel led to three fatalities at the regional center, three fatalities in Kfartabnit due to an ambulance being targeted, and three fatalities among paramedics in Nabi Sheet while performing their duties.
Six paramedics were injured in Sidqin, two in Jibshit, and four in Kherbet Selm during rescue operations, bringing the number of casualties in the health sector so far to nine fatalities and 16 injuries, he pointed out.
Nassereddine also pointed out that the air raids affected health facilities, including the decimation of a health center in Hawik and partial damage to several other health centers.
He added that four hospitals were also partially damaged due to the shelling, including Bahman Hospital, Jabal Amel Hospital, and Al-Najda Al-Shaabiya Hospital, where targeting around the hospital caused damage to the building.
He further explained that the Ministry of Health has worked in recent days to evacuate patients and the injured from threatened hospitals and transferred them to other hospitals in different areas of Lebanon.
