WHO sends medical supplies to Lebanon amid clashes on border with Israel
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Sunday it sent medical supplies to Lebanon amid escalating clashes near its border with Israel.
The shipments arrived in Beirut on Sunday and include enough surgical and trauma medicines and supplies for an estimated 800 to 1,000 patients, WHO said in a statement.
The delivery comes in the wake of increasing violence between Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, and Israel over the past week.
Pointing to Lebanon's crippled health care system, WHO said the country is already faced with a shortage of specialized health workers, medicine and medical equipment.
The Israeli military on Monday ordered the evacuation of residents in northern Israel living near the Lebanese border to state-funded guesthouses. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Israel Defense Forces said the evacuation was approved by Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and will impact 28 communities.
Hezbollah and Israel exchanged fire multiple times over the past eight days, after Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, launched attacks on Israeli villages, farms and military outposts last week in a bloody assault that targeted civilians and left more than 1,300 dead.
Hezbollah claimed last Sunday it fired off guided rockets and artillery to show it stands "in solidarity" with the Palestinian people.
Further exchanges later in the week killed three Hezbollah fighters and damaged several homes in southern Lebanon, the group claimed.
In the wake of such violence, WHO said it is working with the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon to "strengthen preparedness and readiness" for a potential increase in casualties.
WHO has called for an end to the ongoing violence in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
"WHO reiterates its plea for the protection of civilians, health workers and health infrastructure, and ultimately, for an end to hostilities and violence," the organization wrote on Sunday.
Hezbollah fought a five-week war with Israel in 2006. The U.S. and its allies fear the militant group will exploit Israel’s war with Hamas to initiate a second front in the conflict.
An Israeli military spokesperson last week warned of "very severe consequences" if Hezbollah joined the rising conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis is deepening in the Gaza Strip as hospitals warn they are on the verge of collapse due to Israel's siege on food, water and medical supplies.
A United Nations agency on Sunday warned Gaza is "running out of life" after Israel cut off supplies to Gaza and ordered over 1.1 million people to move south in advance of an expected ground assault on the territory.
At least 2,670 Palestinians have died in the conflict, with an additional 9,600 others wounded, the Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday. The death toll has surpassed that of the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks.