A man checks the damage at a factory targeted by an overnight Israeli airstrike in the town of Choueifate south of Beirut on September 28, 2024. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
Since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah opened a support front for Gaza in southern Lebanon against Israel, Lebanon has seen 1,640 killed – including 104 children and 194 women – and 8,404 wounded and many missing whose bodies were not found under the rubble, as a result of Israeli strikes. This information was released on Saturday by the Minister of Health, Dr. Firas Abiad, the day after the attack on Hezbollah headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah.
In detail, during a press conference in which he also discussed assistance to the displaced, the minister specified that for the period between Sept. 16 and 27, 2024, Israeli attacks left 1,030 dead – including 56 women and 87 children – and 6,352 injured. And, on Friday alone, 11 people were killed and 108 were injured. Figures much higher than the average for the past year. Between Oct. 8, 2023 and Sept. 15, 2024, Lebanon had 610 dead – including 38 women and 17 children – and 2,056 injured.
The health sector is paying a heavy price for the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Since the beginning of the conflict, it has counted 41 dead and 111 wounded, stated Abiad.
"On Friday, two Israeli strikes targeted medical and care centers in Deir Sirine and Taybeh (Marjayoun), killing seven and wounding four among health personnel and rescuers," he deplored.
The hospital sector continues to operate, with no hospital having been put out of service so far, the minister assured.
"To ease the burden on hospitals in the affected areas and allow the population to access them, the Ministry of Health has evacuated some patients and transferred them to other hospitals so that they can continue their treatment," he stressed.
The issue of displaced persons from different parts of the country under Israeli bombardment was also at the heart of the Health Minister's press conference. Listing the services available, the official invited anyone in need of assistance to contact the two emergency numbers: 1787 and 1214.
"Over the past three days, the ministry has received more than 2,072 calls, including 450 cancer patients who were redirected to treatment centers, 159 patients on kidney dialysis who were treated, and 38 women who were due to give birth," he noted.
Abiad specified in this context that public hospitals provide free services to the displaced persons, with the remaining amounts to be paid by the taxpayer (benefiting from coverage) having been covered by the ministry's partners.
"As for the outpatient teams, their number has increased from twenty-five to fifty, with the aim of reaching the number of eighty," noted the minister. Referring to the distribution of medicines to primary care centers, he announced that it has begun. "197 primary care centers are linked to 419 reception centers. Similarly, the distribution of milk for children will begin next Monday," concluded Abiad.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.