WHO chief says Israeli strikes damage hospital in southern Lebanon

The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said strikes near Tebnine Government Hospital in southern Lebanon damaged the facility and injured 11 workers.

In a post on US social media platform X, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the hospital, "one of the busiest trauma centers" in southern Lebanon, was damaged by two nearby Israeli strikes on Sunday and Tuesday.

Tedros said the emergency department was affected, including ventilators, monitors, stretchers and trolleys, while the pharmacy and outpatient clinics were also damaged.

He noted that the WHO is supporting urgent repairs while services continue despite the strain.

Tedros added that since the start of Israeli attacks in March, the WHO has recorded 133 attacks on health care facilities, resulting in 88 deaths and 206 injuries. He said 15 hospitals and seven primary health care centers have been damaged, while five hospitals and 56 primary health care centers have closed.

"I reiterate the call for the immediate protection of health care facilities, health workers, ambulances and patients," he said.

The agency's chief also urged safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access across Lebanon, so that "life-saving services can be delivered without delay and without risk to those providing or receiving care."

Israel has killed more than 2,000 people and led to the displacement of a million others in its offensive in Lebanon since March 2, soon after the Iran war as Hezbollah retaliated in favor of its ally Tehran.