28 health workers killed in Lebanon over 24 hours, says WHO chief

The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief said on Thursday that 28 healthcare workers had been killed over the past 24 hours in Lebanon, where Israel has launched airstrikes and sent troops to fight Hizbollah in an escalating conflict.

"Many (other) health workers are not reporting to duty and fled the areas where they work due to bombardments," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online press briefing. "This is severely limiting the provision of mass trauma management and continuity of health services," he said.

"We had planned to deliver a large shipment of trauma and medical supplies tomorrow (Friday) to Lebanon. Unfortunately, this has not been possible due to the almost complete closure of Beirut's airport," he said.

Earlier during the day, the Lebanon's health minister said that more than 40 paramedics and firefighters had been killed by Israeli fire in three days, among 97 killed since Hizbollah and Israel began fighting last October.

Firass Abiad told reporters that in three days 40 people "among those working in ambulances and fire trucks" were killed. He said 97 "paramedics and firefighters" had been killed and 188 wounded since fighting began.

The toll includes emergency personnel from organisations affiliated with Hizbollah or other Lebanese factions.

Since the clashes began, 1,974 people have been killed by Israeli fire, 127 of them children, he said. More than 9,350 people have been wounded.

After nearly a year of low-intensity cross-border exchanges, Israel has shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has forced hundreds of thousands to flee.

Agencies