Lebanon’s Crisis-Battered Healthcare System Now Prepares for a Wider War with Israel, Minister Says

 Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad, attends an interview with Reuters in Beirut, Lebanon August 7, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad, attends an interview with Reuters in Beirut, Lebanon August 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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Lebanon’s Crisis-Battered Healthcare System Now Prepares for a Wider War with Israel, Minister Says

 Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad, attends an interview with Reuters in Beirut, Lebanon August 7, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad, attends an interview with Reuters in Beirut, Lebanon August 7, 2024. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s crisis-battered healthcare system is now preparing for the possibility of a devastating wider conflict with Israel, the country’s health minister told The Associated Press in an interview Monday.

Israel's military and Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group have traded strikes since the current war in Gaza began, but tensions have escalated since an Israeli strike in a Beirut suburb killed a top Hezbollah commander last month. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate.

Lebanon’s caretaker government, amid diplomatic maneuvering for de-escalation, is trying to prepare for the worst with a tattered budget, a deeply divided parliament and no president.

"The Lebanese health system had to adjust to multiple crises," caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad said. Healthcare facilities cut costs by keeping inventory at a minimum, leaving little backup for emergencies, he said. Now inventory has been built up to four months' worth of critical supplies.

"We hope that all the efforts we are doing for preparing for this emergency go to waste" and a wider war is averted, Abiad said. "The best thing that we want is for all of this to turn out to be unnecessary."

Inside Gaza, the health system has been decimated. Abiad said Lebanese health authorities take the possibility of hospitals being targeted in a wider conflict "very seriously."

Already, he said, almost two dozen paramedics and healthcare workers in southern Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes. They include paramedics from medical groups affiliated with Hezbollah and allied groups that have filled the gaps in areas with limited state services.

Israeli strikes have hit deeper into Lebanon in recent weeks, and sonic booms from military jets rattle Beirut. Much of the border region is in rubble.

The Mediterranean country’s health sector was once renowned as one of the best in the region. But Lebanon has faced compounding crises since 2019, including a fiscal one that followed decades of corruption and mismanagement. Other challenges include the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Beirut Port explosion that damaged or destroyed key healthcare infrastructure and dwindling international aid to help Lebanon host more than 1 million Syrian refugees.

Lebanese hospitals in 2021 were at breaking point, barely able to keep the lights on and short on medicines.

Abiad said the health sector has shown resilience before, and he hopes it will again.

"During the (port) blast, the system was able to absorb an excess of 6,000 casualties in a matter of 12 hours," he said. "There is, I would say, a determination within our healthcare system to provide the needed care to all the people who require it."

But resilience might not be enough for the troubled country and its 6 million people. The financial crisis has left government agencies beholden to humanitarian organizations for cash injections and supplies.

Last week, the health ministry received 32 tons of emergency medical aid from the World Health Organization. But UN agencies and other humanitarian groups have had to reallocate funds from existing work to provide aid to about 100,00 people who have fled southern Lebanon since the current war in Gaza began.

Abiad said some issues are out of the ministry’s control, including securing fuel for electricity and petrol for ambulances, as well as supporting the almost 800,000 UN-registered Syrian refugees in the country.

Healthcare resources are not sufficient for refugees in particular, Abiad said: "The international community really has to pull its weight and chip in with this particular issue."



France Mediates to Respect Ceasefire Terms in Lebanon

Armored vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) approach a Lebanese army roadblock near a checkpoint in the village of Burj el-Meluk in Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on January 25, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Armored vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) approach a Lebanese army roadblock near a checkpoint in the village of Burj el-Meluk in Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on January 25, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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France Mediates to Respect Ceasefire Terms in Lebanon

Armored vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) approach a Lebanese army roadblock near a checkpoint in the village of Burj el-Meluk in Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on January 25, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Armored vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) approach a Lebanese army roadblock near a checkpoint in the village of Burj el-Meluk in Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on January 25, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron has engaged in diplomatic efforts to salvage the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, which was set to proceed this Sunday following Israel’s announcement of a delayed withdrawal from South Lebanon.

The Lebanese presidency stated that Macron is conducting discussions to uphold the ceasefire and ensure the agreement’s implementation. According to a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has intensified his consultations and efforts to address the escalating situation in the South and counter what were described as dangerous Israeli practices.

Macron contacted Aoun to discuss the developments and efforts to de-escalate tensions, emphasizing the importance of implementing the ceasefire agreement and taking measures to defuse the crisis. Macron affirmed, according to the Lebanese presidency, that he is “making contacts to sustain the ceasefire and complete the agreement’s implementation.”

Aoun, for his part, stressed the necessity of holding Israel accountable for fulfilling the terms of the agreement to maintain stability in the South. He highlighted Israel’s continued violations, including the destruction of villages near the southern border and the leveling of lands, actions that would hinder displaced residents from returning to their homes.

The Israeli military has warned residents of dozens of Lebanese border villages against returning until further notice. On Saturday, the Israeli army issued a map showing areas in the South, marked with dozens of villages, and cautioned residents against entering these areas.

The army’s statement on the X platform read: “Anyone moving south of this line is putting themselves in danger.” The designated area spans from Shebaa, about two kilometers east of the border, to the village of Mansouri, roughly 10 kilometers west of the border.

In contrast, the Lebanese army accused Israel of stalling its withdrawal from southern Lebanon, complicating the deployment of Lebanese forces in the area. A Saturday statement by the Lebanese army said: “Several stages have been delayed due to Israel’s stalling in its withdrawal, complicating the army’s deployment efforts. However, the army remains ready to complete its deployment as soon as the Israeli forces withdraw.”

The Lebanese army also urged residents to delay their return to the border region due to the presence of Israeli-laid landmines and unexploded ordnance. It called on citizens to act responsibly and adhere to the military’s instructions to ensure their safety.

“Military units are continuously conducting engineering surveys, clearing roads, and addressing unexploded ordnance. They are closely monitoring the operational situation, including violations of the agreement, attacks on Lebanese sovereignty, and the destruction of infrastructure, including demolitions and fires in border villages caused by Israeli forces,” the statement added.

The Lebanese army also noted that it is implementing a plan to enhance its deployment in the region south of the Litani River under a mandate from the Cabinet. This effort began as soon as the ceasefire agreement came into effect, following a phased and coordinated approach in collaboration with the five-member committee overseeing the agreement’s implementation and UNIFIL forces.