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On October 2, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that Lebanon's health system is struggling to cope with a large number of patients after Israel intensified airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in the country.
On the X website, Mr. Ghebreyesus said that hospitals in Lebanon were becoming overwhelmed by the rising number of injured and dead. He warned that the country’s health system, weakened by successive crises, was struggling to meet urgent needs, and said that the WHO was stepping up its response efforts.
Last month, Israel shifted its focus from the conflict in the Gaza Strip, which erupted after Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, to defending its northern border with Lebanon. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the capital Beirut and its southern suburbs.
During a meeting with Arab League ambassadors in Geneva, Switzerland, Mr. Tedros stressed the need to protect and provide health care to all patients, health workers and civilians, including refugees, in Lebanon.
He said the WHO was working closely with the Lebanese Ministry of Health to ensure hospitals had the supplies and personnel to respond. However, the WHO chief also said that “what the people of Lebanon, Gaza, Israel and the entire Middle East need is peace.” He warned that any escalation in the conflict would have catastrophic consequences for the region.
Amid escalating tensions, Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Ghazi al-Jalali met with Iranian Ambassador to the country Hussein Akbari to discuss ways to cooperate to support Lebanese refugees.
During the meeting, the two sides reviewed cooperation mechanisms to meet the needs and provide humanitarian assistance, relief and medical assistance to Lebanese citizens. Prime Minister Al-Jalali stressed that the Syrian government is making efforts to ensure the needs of Lebanese refugees and amending some procedures to facilitate their reception.
Mr. Al-Jalali affirmed that Syria is ready to welcome any initiative that helps Lebanese refugees. For his part, the Iranian Ambassador expressed his country's readiness to coordinate with Syrian authorities to support Lebanese refugees.
Meanwhile, nine Turkish NGOs plan to send a humanitarian aid ship to Lebanon to assist the people of that country. The first ship will carry about 80 containers including 1,300 tons of humanitarian aid and is expected to arrive in Lebanon in a week.
