Israel threatens to bomb ambulances in Lebanon... Will the Gaza scenario be repeated?

Israel's army warned it could target ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of using them for military purposes on a wide scale and saying the practice must stop or Israel will act against any military activity using those facilities under international law.

“The Israeli army warned of the possibility of targeting ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah is using them for military purposes illegally, in an escalation that recalls the same pretexts that accompanied the war of annihilation in Gaza, where hospitals, ambulances, and medical crews were turned into direct targets, causing an almost complete collapse of the health system”

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Avichai Adraei, spokesperson for the Israeli army, posted the threat on X.

Al-Jazeera Net

The army provided no evidence to support the accusations and had not responded to requests for proof about Hezbollah's use of medical facilities or ambulances.

Hezbollah denied the charges, saying it does not use ambulances or medical facilities for military purposes.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said since the start of Israel's latest attacks, 26 medics have been killed and 51 injured, while 826 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced as the bombing campaign intensified since March 2.

It also reported that an Israeli air strike hit the Burj Qlaouiya primary health care center, killing 12 staff and leaving 4 missing, an assertion reinforced by the WHO director-general, who confirmed the deaths of 12 doctors, medics, and nursing staff in the same night’s strike.

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The ministry said the Israeli army continues to target ambulance crews as they perform rescue missions and noted that the attack expanded, for the first time since October 2023, to include crews belonging to the Lebanese Red Cross.

In Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 22 hospitals went out of service, 211 ambulances were attacked, and 23 Civil Defense vehicles were destroyed during the war of annihilation; the health sector there has been severely degraded, with the death toll including 157 doctors, 366 nurses, 103 pharmacists, and 254 medical assistants martyred.

International law states that civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, are protected sites, and that attacking hospitals or using them for military purposes constitutes a violation of the law.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a 'bloodthirsty network' continues to shell schools and hospitals in Iran and Lebanon as it did in Gaza, warning against disregard for human life.

“The Israeli army warned of the possibility of targeting ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah is using them for military purposes illegally, in an escalation that recalls the same pretexts that accompanied the war of annihilation in Gaza, where hospitals, ambulances, and medical crews were turned into direct targets, causing an almost complete collapse of the health system”

Al-Jazeera Net

He spoke during an iftar gathering at Istanbul University for Medicine Day, pointing to the killing of children in nurseries and ICUs and the martyrdom of doctors, nurses, and health workers.

He claimed that about 1,700 health workers were killed in Gaza due to Israeli state terrorism.