Lebanon’s health care system ‘on the brink of collapse’: UN
The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is escalating daily with Israeli airstrikes expanding geographically and increasingly targeting health and civilian infrastructure.
At least 77 healthcare workers have been killed on duty since October 2023 – of these, nearly a third were killed in 24 hours between October 2 and 3, the UN’s World Health Organisation said.
Imran Riza, UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, warned of an “alarming increase in attacks” against healthcare workers.
“Throughout the past days we have been witnessing an alarming increase in attacks against healthcare in Lebaon. Health workers are paying the heaviest price with their lives. The health system is on the brink of collapsing,” Riza said.
The ongoing military operations and displacement orders issued by the Israeli army are driving new waves of displacement, particularly from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs. As of 3 October, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had recorded 541,527 internally displaced persons (IDPs) since the onset of the crisis, reflecting an increase of 385% over the past two weeks.
Some 892 collective shelters have been identified, accommodating more than 163,000 people, as reported by the national Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Unit on 3 October.
