Damage at the Tibnin hospital in southern Lebanon after an Israeli bombing in the area on May 21, 2026. (Credit: Photo provided by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — The Israeli army on Wednesday accused Hezbollah of using the government hospital in Tibnin, in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, and of "transferring its wounded fighters" there — claims swiftly denied by the Lebanon's Ministry of Health and the hospital’s management, who described them as "fabrications" and "false allegations."
In a statement, the Israeli army said "intelligence information indicates the terrorist organization Hezbollah took control of the Tebnine public hospital during the war," adding that wounded fighters were allegedly treated there before being transferred to another facility, the Rassoul al-Aazam hospital in the southern suburb of Beirut.
The army also accused the party of "exploiting Lebanese medical and government infrastructure for military purposes," a practice it said it has repeatedly denounced. Addressing the Lebanese people, it warned: "Do not be deceived: the takeover of hospitals and the use of medical infrastructure by Hezbollah put your lives in danger," and added: "To the Hezbollah fighters who continue to hide under patients’ beds in Lebanese state civilian hospitals: if you think you are safe there, know that you are not."
On Wednesday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry emergency operations center reported a heavy toll from Israeli strikes between Monday night and Tuesday at 8 p.m., in southern Lebanon: five killed and 48 wounded. It also condemned an attack on Tibnin hospital on Tuesday that injured 11 people, including a doctor and five medical staff members, and caused significant damage to the building, stressing that attacks on health facilities violate international law.
The ministry rejected the Israeli army’s accusations, calling them "fabrications and false allegations," and describing them as a "serious threat" against a civilian facility. It said that the hospital is "the only hospital institution in the Bint Jbeil district," in an area repeatedly hit by Israeli strikes.
It also noted that a center of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Lebanese Red Cross operates on the premises, while the Lebanese Army maintains a fixed checkpoint at the entrance and has relocated its dispensary there. The ministry warned against any attack on the hospital, holding Israel "fully responsible for any harm," and urged the media to visit the site, insisting the facility hosts medical staff and patients amid what it described as an intensification of attacks on health infrastructure.
For its part, and without explicitly naming Hezbollah, the Tibnin hospital administration also denied any takeover of the facility "by political parties" or its use "for non-medical purposes," calling the allegations "completely false."
The administration described the claims as an"attempt to distort facts and spread fear among employees and citizens to prevent them from coming to the hospital." It stressed that the facility is "an official public institution under the authority of the Lebanese state, founded in 1960," and that it "continues to carry out its humanitarian and national mission without discrimination." It also stated that the hospital currently operates with "about 70 employees" and "10 doctors," while "7 patients are currently receiving care."
