IOF attacks on Lebanon first responders potenial war crimes: Intercept

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Intercept
15 Oct 2024 11:26
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According to the United Nations, over 100 medical and emergency personnel have been killed across Lebanon since October, 2023.

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Paramedic equipment left on the debris after an airstrike hit an apartment in a multistory building, in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, October 3, 2024. (AP)

A report by The Intercept news website shed light on the Israeli targeting of medical and emergency personnel in Lebanon under the false pretext of eliminating Hezbollah fighters, just like it does to justify its massacres in the Gaza Strip since the start of its attacks on the country last year.

On October 9, an Israeli airstrike hit a Civil Defense center in the southern Lebanese town of Derdghaiya, killing five first responders, with images from the scene depicting the charred remains of a newly acquired vehicle, alongside the rubble of a nearby church and a residence where two additional civilians were killed, The Intercept reported.

The attack was the latest in a series of strikes targeting Lebanese emergency workers. According to the United Nations, over 100 medical and emergency personnel have been killed across Lebanon since "Israel’s" war on Gaza began last October, with a significant portion of these targetings occurring in recent weeks.

98 healthcare facilities closed due to Israeli strikes

Imran Riza, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, underscored on October 3 that "frontline workers, protected under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), are civilians risking their lives to help others and should never be targeted."

"These attacks disrupt essential services, delay critical care, and violate the right to healthcare, endangering both aid workers and the vulnerable populations they serve," he pointed out.

Targeting healthcare workers and facilities is a violation of international humanitarian law, as outlined in the Geneva Conventions, which have been ratified by 195 parties, including "Israel", The Intercept noted.

The United Nations recently reported that Israeli strikes have forced the closure of 98 healthcare facilities across Lebanon.

The news website explained that as Lebanon's public sector has withered under successive economic crises, the Lebanese Civil Defense has increasingly relied on volunteers.

It cited Nabil Salhani, director of the Civil Defense’s training and schools division, as saying that there are 230 Civil Defense stations across Lebanon, from the southern borderlands to the northern mountains.

Approximately 2,500 first responders are on the government payroll, with an additional 6,000 serving as volunteers, according to Salhani.

Successive attacks on first responders

The website mentioned that since last October, Israeli strikes have been concentrated primarily in southern Lebanon, where first responders have suffered injuries from minefields, cluster munitions, and exposure to white phosphorus, an incendiary substance that produces thick, toxic smoke and is restricted under international law.

The first significant attack on first responders occurred in late March, according to The Intercept, when seven paramedics from the Emergency and Relief Corps of the Lebanese Succour Association were killed in a strike on their center in Hebbariyeh, southern Lebanon.

While the Israeli military claimed the strike targeted an “armed individual” linked to the medical group, a Human Rights Watch report found no evidence of a military presence at the site.

Since then, the fighting has intensified, leading to the killing of numerous paramedics and firefighters from the Civil Defense and other emergency services.

Referencing other attacks on first responders, The Intercept said that in September, an Israeli airstrike on a Civil Defense fire truck in the southern town of Froun killed three first responders and injured two others.

Back then, the Lebanese Health Ministry stated the men had been battling fires caused by Israeli airstrikes, while the Israeli occupation military claimed it had "struck and eliminated terrorists."

Earlier in October, 10 firefighters were also killed in an Israeli airstrike on a municipal building in the southern town of Baraachit. According to a Health Ministry spokesperson, the men were preparing for rescue missions. The Israeli military also claimed Hezbollah had been using the fire station as a military post.

Shortly after the Israeli strike on Derdghaiya, the Israeli occupation military tweeted a claim, without providing evidence, that the Lebanese Resistance group was using ambulances to transport weapons.