WHO: 72 Patients, Medical Staff Killed in Israeli Attack in Lebanon

SEAToday.com, Moscow - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday (10/16) released a statement saying that 72 medical workers and patients have been killed and 43 others injured by Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Since the September 17 outbreak of the Israel-Lebanon conflict, WHO has verified 23 attacks on health facilities in Lebanon that have caused 72 deaths and 43 injuries among health workers and patients.”

The statement also mentioned that 100 out of 207 primary health facilities and pharmacies have been closed in conflict-affected areas.

Supplies in Lebanese health facilities are also running low and medical staff are exhausted, the WHO said.

In addition to air strikes, Israel on October 1 began a ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah continues to fight back and fire rockets across the border.

Since tensions escalated, the death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon has surpassed 2,300, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Israel argues that its offensive in Lebanon is to create conditions for 60,000 Israelis displaced by fighting in the north to return.