Lebanon.. Hospital director and 6 workers killed in Baalbek, Israeli raids target Beirut suburb

An Israeli airstrike on the Baalbek district in eastern Lebanon killed the director of a private hospital and six of its employees on Friday, while fighter jets launched a series of airstrikes targeting Beirut's southern suburbs.

This comes on the 23rd day of Israel's escalation of its aggression on the Baalbek district, in the Baalbek-Hermel governorate, which observers consider to be the main human reservoir for Hezbollah in Lebanon, where it enjoys wide influence and a large popular base.

Night raids in Beirut suburb

New night raids targeted the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday night, and the National News Agency reported that “the Israeli enemy’s aircraft targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut,” while AFP correspondents in the heart of Beirut and east of the capital heard the sound of at least three explosions.

A series of Israeli raids targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut and its outskirts on Friday, following warnings issued by the Israeli army to residents to evacuate buildings, a number of which are located in crowded residential and commercial areas, amid the ongoing open confrontation between Hezbollah and the Hebrew state for two months.

In addition to the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are regularly bombed, the Israeli army issued warnings during the night to evacuate several areas in southern Lebanon, where it has been carrying out ground incursions since September 30.

⬅️ Watch..
Massive destruction caused by the occupation's raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut. pic.twitter.com/bJMJBqg81D

— Palestinian Information Center (@PalinfoAr) November 22, 2024

Hospital director martyred

The Lebanese News Agency said that an Israeli raid targeted the home of Ali Rakan Allam, director of Dar Al-Amal University Hospital, in the town of Douris, in the Baalbek district, which led to his death along with a number of his friends. Work is underway to remove the rubble, without specifying the number of people who were with him.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said in a later statement that Allam "was martyred along with six of his hospital staff," without clarifying whether the six victims were medical staff or administrators.

The ministry denounced the continued attacks by the Israeli army on health workers and facilities in Lebanon, considering them war crimes.

She called on the international community and the concerned international bodies to take a courageous, firm and clear position to put an end to this unacceptable bleeding in the health body, both humanely and morally.

According to the Ministry of Health figures, during the current war on Lebanon and until the end of Thursday, Israel targeted 94 medical and emergency centers, 40 hospitals, and 249 health sector vehicles, and carried out attacks on 67 hospitals and 227 emergency associations.

According to the same source, this led to the killing of 214 medical personnel and the injury of 323 others.

On October 31, the Israeli army significantly escalated its aggression against the Baalbek district, claiming to target Hezbollah infrastructure, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries.

⬅️ Watch..
The moment the occupation forces launched a violent raid on the southern suburb of Beirut pic.twitter.com/6o007wdg8Q

— Palestinian Information Center (@PalinfoAr) November 22, 2024

Baalbek, the center of this district, is a historical city dating back about 3,000 years, and is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

After clashes with factions in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, which began after it launched a war of genocide on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Israel expanded the scope of its war since September 23 to include most of Lebanon’s regions, including the capital Beirut, through unprecedentedly violent and intense air strikes. It also began a ground invasion in the south, disregarding international warnings and UN resolutions.

The Israeli aggression on Lebanon resulted in a total of 3,645 deaths and 15,355 injuries, including a large number of children and women, in addition to about 1.4 million displaced persons. Most of the victims and displaced persons were recorded after September 23, according to Anadolu Agency’s monitoring of official Lebanese data announced until Thursday evening.

(Agencies)