Lead
In early October 2025 and again during a wave of strikes after March 2, Israeli attacks hit medical teams and facilities in southern Lebanon, most recently destroying an Islamic Health Authority (IHA) clinic in Burj Qalaouiyah and killing 12 people. The dead included on-duty doctors, paramedics, nurses and patients; the IHA says scores of its staff have been killed in recent weeks. Israel’s military has publicly claimed—without supplying corroborating evidence—that some medical vehicles and centers are being used for Hezbollah operations and therefore may be targeted. Humanitarian bodies and rights groups say medical personnel and ambulances are protected under international law and have condemned the strikes.
Key Takeaways
- An Israeli strike on an IHA medical center in Burj Qalaouiyah (Bint Jbeil District) killed 12 people, including doctors, paramedics, nurses and patients.
- The IHA reports it has lost more than two dozen staff overall; wider reporting cites at least 38 medical and rescue personnel killed across Lebanon in recent weeks.
- Over the past two weeks across Lebanon, at least 850 people have been killed and more than 850,000 displaced, according to local health authorities.
- Israeli forces say they will target medical facilities and ambulances they assert are used by Hezbollah, a claim rights groups describe as unproven and legally insufficient.
- The WHO’s Director-General condemned the attacks and reiterated that health workers and facilities must be protected under international humanitarian law.
- Rights groups including Amnesty International reviewed earlier cases and found no evidence that the struck ambulances or facilities were being used for military purposes at the time.
Background
Lebanon’s emergency and health services operate in a tense environment where state and non-state actors overlap. The Islamic Health Authority (IHA) provides rescue and medical services across the south, the Bekaa Valley and parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs; it is publicly affiliated with Hezbollah and also serves large civilian populations. Lebanese Civil Defense, the Red Cross and other neutral or state actors operate alongside the IHA, often responding to the same strikes and mass-casualty incidents.
The current wave of violence follows a marked escalation after March 2, when Israeli operations expanded across Lebanon, including airstrikes and ground incursions. Over earlier periods of conflict—most notably between October 8, 2023 and late November 2024—Lebanon’s Health Ministry documented at least 222 medical and civil defense personnel killed. Humanitarian infrastructure in Gaza and Lebanon has previously sustained heavy damage in earlier campaigns, with Gaza authorities reporting roughly 1,700 health workers killed in the enclave during the first two years of intense hostilities.
Main Event
In the most recent strike, an Israeli attack destroyed an IHA medical center in Burj Qalaouiyah, killing 12 people including medical staff and patients, according to IHA statements and local reporting. Witnesses and IHA representatives said the facility was serving nearby towns when it was hit; the building was left in ruins and first responders from the same service were among the casualties.
Separate incidents since then included a strike on a house in Kfar Sir north of the Litani River that killed one person. When an IHA ambulance arrived to evacuate the wounded, a second strike reportedly struck the rescue team, killing two paramedics and wounding another, local state-run media reported. Two other IHA ambulances were reportedly hit in separate strikes the same day, leaving additional paramedics dead.
IHA spokesperson Mahmoud Karaki described repeated strikes on rescuers and centers, and accused forces of employing a tactic where rescuers are targeted after arriving at scenes—the so-called double-tap. Karaki said teams that provide a last measure of safety for residents who remain were being deliberately targeted, increasing civilian vulnerability and complicating evacuation and medical care.
Analysis & Implications
Targeting health workers and facilities, if verified, represents a serious breach of international humanitarian law, which grants medical personnel and civilian medical infrastructure special protections. Rights groups stress that any claim of military use must be demonstrated with specific evidence tied to a particular object at a particular time; broad declarations that all ambulances or an entire health network are legitimate targets do not meet that legal threshold.
Operationally, strikes on ambulances and hospitals degrade emergency response capacity at the moment it is most needed, multiplying civilian harm. With more than 850,000 people displaced and many towns still densely populated, the loss of trained rescuers and functioning hospitals will raise mortality from otherwise survivable injuries and impede routine care for chronic conditions.
Politically, Israel’s public statements framing ambulances as potential Hezbollah assets aim to justify strikes to domestic and allied audiences, but they also raise the bar for international scrutiny and potential accountability processes. If independent monitors cannot corroborate military claims, those claims will fuel accusations of indiscriminate or disproportionate use of force and may increase diplomatic pressure on Israel from states and international institutions.
Comparison & Data
| Period | Medical personnel killed | Medical/ambulance centers struck | Hospitals forced to close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recent weeks (current wave) | At least 38 | 13 | 5 |
| Oct 8, 2023–Nov 2024 | At least 222 | — | — |
The table aggregates figures reported by Lebanon’s Health Ministry and other local sources: 13 medical and ambulance centers were struck and five major hospitals temporarily closed in the most recent period, while the earlier 2023–2024 period recorded at least 222 medical and civil defense personnel killed. These tallies combine several organizations’ reports and are subject to revision as bodies recover and officials update counts.
Reactions & Quotes
The World Health Organization publicly condemned attacks on health workers and facilities, emphasizing legal protections and the humanitarian consequences of striking medical services.
“These incidents highlight the ongoing assault on Lebanon’s healthcare system…health workers must always be protected.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director‑General (official statement)
Rights monitors who have reviewed past strikes in Lebanon say they found no evidence the struck ambulances or facilities were used for military operations at the moment of attack, arguing that blanket targeting claims are insufficient under international law.
“We saw a range of civilian actors…being killed, wounded, or targeted. From an international law perspective, civilians and civilian objects should not be targeted for attack.”
Kristine Bekerle, Amnesty International deputy regional director (rights group)
The IHA emphasized the human cost and local impact of the strikes, describing personnel lost and the disruption to rescue capacity in affected towns.
“The presence of a team of first responders offers a last remaining sense of security…that’s why the occupation targets healthcare workers who have nothing to do with what’s happening on the battlefield.”
Mahmoud Karaki, IHA spokesperson (IHA statement)
Unconfirmed
- Claims that all IHA ambulances are routinely used by Hezbollah combatants remain unverified by independent investigators; available reporting cites specific accusations but lacks public evidence tied to particular vehicles and times.
- Allegations that Israeli commandos used IHA-marked ambulances during the Nabi Chit operation have been reported by Lebanese authorities but not independently corroborated in open-source investigations.
- Precise tallies of medical personnel killed across organizations are provisional and may change as authorities and NGOs reconcile lists and recovery teams update counts.
Bottom Line
The destruction of an IHA center in Burj Qalaouiyah and the deaths of medical staff and patients add to a mounting toll on Lebanon’s health infrastructure and emergency responders. Rights groups and the WHO say such attacks threaten core protections under international humanitarian law and have catastrophic humanitarian consequences for civilians who rely on these services.
Israel’s public assertion that ambulances and medical centers are being used for military purposes elevates the need for clear, verifiable evidence and independent monitoring. Without transparent verification, broad targeting claims risk undermining legal norms and worsening civilian suffering; the international community faces urgent pressure to document incidents, protect aid workers, and press for accountability where unlawful strikes are confirmed.