Rafik Hariri Hospital employees close their wards and announce a Thursday demonstration

The committee of employees and contract workers at Rafik Hariri Governmental University Hospital in Jnah, Beirut, announced on Tuesday "the closure of all hospital departments, except for those handling critical cases," and called for a demonstration on Thursday, Dec. 26, outside the Public Health Ministry building, reported the official National News Agency (NNA).

In their statement, the employees are protesting what they describe as the “negative interference” of the Public Health Ministry in the hospital’s administrative affairs, as well as unfulfilled promises from the ministry under the current management. They also criticized the "clientelism in the monitoring and application of decrees that include the hospital."

This action follows an earlier strike in December, during which the committee closed all outpatient departments. At that time, they accused the hospital administration of failing to pay employees’ wages on time and not properly transferring those wages to their accounts. The committee had warned that they would escalate their actions if the situation was not resolved.

Firas Abiad, the caretaker Health Minister, was the head of the hospital before taking office in 2021.