Hospitals in Lebanon ‘overwhelmed’ with influx of injured patients: WHO chief

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Hospitals in Lebanon is “overwhelmed” with the influx of injured patients amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

"The death toll in #Lebanon is rising, and hospitals are overwhelmed with the influx of injured patients. The health system has been weakened by successive crises and is struggling to cope with the immense needs," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.

Tedros said that he met with Arab League ambassadors in Geneva to discuss the health situation in Lebanon and the region, adding that they agreed patients, health workers and civilians, including refugees, "must be protected and offered the health care they need."

The WHO has been working closely with the Lebanese Health Ministry to ensure hospitals have enough medical supplies and health workers are trained for mass casualty events, he added.

"But more help is needed, and we are scaling up our response. However, what the people of Lebanon, Gaza, Israel and throughout the Middle East need is peace," the WHO secretary general said.

"The violence must end to prevent more loss and suffering. Any further escalation of the conflict will have catastrophic consequences for the region. The best medicine is peace," he added.

Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last October.

The conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed 1,928 people and injured nearly 9,300 others since Sept. 23.