Exploding Radios in Lebanon Disrupt Its Fragile Health System, WHO Says

People gather outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Beirut, Lebanon, 18 September 2024. (EPA)
People gather outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Beirut, Lebanon, 18 September 2024. (EPA)
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Exploding Radios in Lebanon Disrupt Its Fragile Health System, WHO Says

People gather outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Beirut, Lebanon, 18 September 2024. (EPA)
People gather outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Beirut, Lebanon, 18 September 2024. (EPA)

Explosions in booby-trapped radios and pagers in Lebanon this week seriously disrupted its fragile health sector, the World Health Organization chief said on Thursday.

The UN health agency cited Lebanese health authorities' toll that 37 people had been killed and more than 3,000 injured in the pager blasts that detonated in areas considered strongholds of the anti-Israel group Hezbollah.

"These events have seriously disrupted Lebanon's already fragile health system," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference, adding that the global body had distributed blood supplies and trauma kits in the country.

"The whole health system came under immense pressure very, very quickly," said WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan at the same briefing.

WHO's representative in Lebanon Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar said 100 hospitals were involved in the response. A series of drills ahead of the attacks and the stockpiling of emergency supplies helped prepare doctors and nurses in advance and limited the casualties, he said.

At the same briefing, Tedros said mpox cases were rising in Africa and the WHO planned to send 33 tons of supplies for testing, treating and preventing cases to the worst affected country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Friday.

He said he was encouraged by falling cases of Guinea Worm globally. "We now have the opportunity to make Guinea Worm only the second human disease to be eradicated," he said, referencing the eradication of smallpox in 1980.



Israel Far Right Presses Netanyahu for Decisive Win Against Hamas

People protest against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza, at Potsdamer Platz, in Berlin, Germany, August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo
People protest against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza, at Potsdamer Platz, in Berlin, Germany, August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo
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Israel Far Right Presses Netanyahu for Decisive Win Against Hamas

People protest against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza, at Potsdamer Platz, in Berlin, Germany, August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo
People protest against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza, at Potsdamer Platz, in Berlin, Germany, August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo

Israel's far right pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go harder against Hamas, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting Sunday on the premier's plan to conquer Gaza City.

Over 22 months into the war in Gaza, Israel is gripped by a yawning divide, pitting those calling for an end of the conflict along with a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see Hamas vanquished once and for all.

The debate has only intensified after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet announced plans Friday to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City.

While thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv Saturday night to protest the cabinet's decision, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video online, slamming Netanyahu's decision on Gaza as half-hearted, AFP reported.

"The prime minister and the cabinet gave in to weakness. Emotion overcame reason, and they once again chose to do more of the same -- launching a military operation whose goal is not decisive victory, but rather to apply limited pressure on Hamas in order to bring about a partial hostage deal," Smotrich said.

"They decided once again to repeat the same approach, embarking on a military operation that does not aim for a decisive resolution."

Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a press conference with international media at 4:30 pm local time (13:30 GMT) on Sunday -- his first since the security cabinet decision.

The far-right members of Netanyahu's cabinet, including Smotrich, have maintained considerable influence in the premier's coalition government throughout the war -- with their support seen as vital to holding at least 61 seats for a parliamentary majority.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, also of the far right, told Kan radio on Sunday: "It is possible to achieve victory. I want all of Gaza, transfer and colonisation. This plan will not endanger the troops."

In Tel Aviv, demonstrators held up pictures of hostages still in Gaza, calling on the government to secure their release.

"We will end with a direct message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: if you invade parts of Gaza and the hostages are murdered, we will pursue you in the town squares, in election campaigns and at every time and place," Shahar Mor Zahiro, the relative of a slain hostage, told AFP.

The cabinet's decision to expand the war in Gaza has meanwhile touched off a wave of criticism across the globe.

On Sunday, the UN Security Council is set to meet to discuss the latest development.

Foreign powers, including some of Israel's allies, have been pushing for a negotiated truce to secure the hostages' return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the territory following repeated warnings of famine taking hold.

Despite the backlash and rumors of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained firm.

In a post on social media late Friday, Netanyahu said "we are not going to occupy Gaza -- we are going to free Gaza from Hamas".

The premier has faced regular protests over the course of the war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a deal after past truces saw hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.

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Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.

According to Gaza's civil defence agency, at least 27 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory Sunday, including 11 who were waiting near aid distribution centres.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.