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UN says Lebanon's health system is critically overstretched after weeks of strikes; government reports nearly 1,900 killed since March 2
Summary
The UN relayed figures from Lebanon's Ministry of Health saying Wednesday's strikes killed more than 300 people and brought the death toll since March 2 to nearly 1,900, warning hospitals face trauma supply shortages and shelters and schools are overcrowded.
The United Nations told reporters on Friday that Lebanon’s health system is facing extreme strain after weeks of strikes and rising casualties.
Steph, the UN spokesperson, said Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported that strikes on Wednesday killed more than 300 people and that the total number of people killed in Lebanon since March 2 stands at nearly 1,900, with more than 6,000 injured. She attributed those figures directly to the Lebanese government.
The spokesperson said the World Health Organization and UN partners have warned that some hospitals may run out of trauma supplies within days after surging casualties; she added that roughly three weeks’ worth of some supplies were depleted in a single day. The UN also reported that more than 680 shelters holding about 140,000 displaced people are severely overcrowded and that nearly half of Lebanon’s public schools are being used as shelters.
“Our humanitarian colleagues continue to be seriously concerned over attacks on health and emergency services,” Steph said, urging an immediate de-escalation and that all parties protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law. She called for safe, unimpeded access for relief operations and additional funding to meet rapidly expanding needs.
The UN described specific impacts: attacks on ambulances and medical personnel (including two first responders killed in the province of Tyre), disruption of supply chains, and threats to the availability of medicines for chronic conditions such as insulin. UN agencies reported they have reached tens of thousands with medical care and subsidized primary health services since early March.
The spokesperson did not provide a breakdown of requested funding during the briefing and said the office would supply that figure later.
The briefing ended with the spokesperson reiterating the UN’s call for the protection of health workers, ambulances and civilian infrastructure and for greater support to allow safe delivery of aid.
