Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday that Israeli army attacks on medical personnel and health facilities in Lebanon constitute “apparent war crimes.” In its latest report, HRW condemned the repeated attacks by the Israeli occupation army against paramedics, hospitals and medical centres in Lebanon, reports Middle East Monitor.
“The Israeli army’s unlawful attacks on medical personnel and hospitals are destroying Lebanon’s already fragile healthcare system and putting medical personnel at grave risk,” said Ramzi Kayes, Lebanon researcher at HRW. According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health, Israeli attacks have killed at least 163 health and rescue workers across the country over the past year, and damaged 158 ambulances and 55 hospitals.
According to the MEM report, the rights watchdog said that it has documented three attacks suspected of being war crimes, during which the Israeli occupation forces had unlawfully attacked medical personnel, ambulances and medical facilities. It called on the UN to conduct an urgent international investigation into the ongoing hostilities in Lebanon.
The Israeli occupation government accuses Hezbollah of using ambulances to transport fighters and hospitals to hide weapons and equipment. However, HRW explained that it had not found any evidence indicating that the three facilities had been used for military purposes at the time of the attacks, which would have required them to be stripped of their protected status under international humanitarian law.
“Under the laws of war, doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health and medical personnel must be allowed to do their work and must be protected in all circumstances,” added the rights group.
