Israel on Friday deliberately targeted a director of Dar Al Amal Hospital in the Baalbek district of eastern Lebanon in an airstrike on his home that also killed six other health workers.
The Lebanese health sector continues to endure damage from Israeli strikes on hospitals and medical professionals as part of Tel Aviv’s aggression against the country as of early October.
According to the official Lebanese news agency NNA, an Israeli airstrike struck the home of Ali Allam, director of Dar Al Amal Hospital in Douris town of the Baalbek district, killing him and six other hospital employees.
Efforts are underway to remove the rubble, it added.
The Health Ministry mourned the brutal killings of Allam and six other health workers in the Israeli airstrike and urged the international community to put an end to the targeting of the health sector in Lebanon.
So far, according to Health Ministry figures, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed 214 medical workers, including paramedics.
Israel has engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets.
Over 3,600 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with more than 15,300 injured and over 1 million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on October 1.
Additionally, clashes between Israeli ground forces and Hezbollah fighters took place in the southern region, with Hezbollah responding with rocket fire and shelling.
Meanwhile, Gaza is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with food shortages causing most bakeries to close due to a lack of flour. In a separate incident, an Israeli attack on the Kamal Adwan Hospital resulted in the destruction of a generator, leading to a power outage at the facility.
Palestinian health officials warned that due to the Israeli blockade, fuel supplies in Gaza are running low, and hospitals in the region may be forced to shut down at any moment.
Since the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in October 2023, at least 226 health workers and patients have been killed in Lebanon, according to the latest WHO report.
In Gaza, Israel’s actions have resulted in the deaths of at least 44,056 Palestinians and left 104,286 wounded since the conflict began on October 7, 2023.
Since the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza, Lebanon has suffered at least 3,645 deaths and 15,355 injuries from Israeli attacks.
The UN voiced concern on November 22 that conditions were so dire in Syria that some Lebanese residents who had fled there seeking refuge from the Israel-Hezbollah war were opting to return to Lebanon.
Previously, four UN peacekeepers from Italy were wounded by rocket fire in Lebanon on November 22.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed “deep indignation and concern” over “new attacks suffered by the Italian headquarters of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) in southern Lebanon”.
“These attacks are unacceptable,” she said in a statement, calling on “the parties on the ground to guarantee, at all times, the safety of UNIFIL soldiers and to collaborate to quickly identify those responsible”.
The ongoing conflict in both Lebanon and Gaza has escalated humanitarian concerns, with the international community calling for urgent action to address the dire conditions faced by civilians and medical facilities in the region.
