The World Health Organisation's director cautioned on Tuesday that Lebanon's healthcare system is faltering as Israel intensifies airstrikes and initiates a ground incursion into the nation.
"The death toll in Lebanon is escalating, and hospitals are inundated with the surge of injured patients," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned on X.
"The healthcare system has been debilitated by successive crises and is grappling to meet the overwhelming demands," he stated, noting that the WHO is augmenting its assistance efforts.
Israel redirected its attention last month from the conflict in Gaza, ignited by the October 7 attacks by Iran-backed Hamas, to fortifying its northern border with Lebanon.
Over 1,000 individuals have perished since last week, amid hostilities that encompass Israeli strikes on Beirut and its southern outskirts.
Tedros disclosed that he convened with Arab League ambassadors in Geneva to address the situation.
"We concurred that patients, healthcare workers, and civilians, including refugees, must be safeguarded and provided with the necessary healthcare," he articulated.
He emphasized that the WHO has been collaborating closely with the Lebanese health ministry "to guarantee hospitals have ample medical supplies and healthcare workers are prepared for mass casualty incidents, as well as to sustain essential health services for the most susceptible."
"However, additional aid is imperative," he asserted.
Tedros maintained that "what the people of Lebanon, Gaza, Israel, and across the Middle East require is peace."
"The violence must cease to avert further loss and anguish. Any escalation of the conflict will precipitate catastrophic repercussions for the region," he cautioned.
"The ultimate remedy is peace."
