After at least 26 people including children were killed in Lebanon and thousands wounded from explosions caused by coordinated cyberattacks, the country is on the brink of war.
After pager explosions, Lebanese doctors warn against an escalation of the conflict
A Lebanese Red Cross ambulance enters the emergency building of the American University hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 18, 2024.
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The attacks were blamed on Israel as they mainly targeted members of Lebenaese militant group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas in the Gaza war.
Pagers and walkie-talkies mostly but not only used by Hezbollah members were targetted.
This led to an influx of wounded to hospitals in severals parts of Lebanon, submerging health personnel in those facilities.
A surgeon recounted what he saw in operating blocks.
“The idea of booby trapping a pager. I mean, yesterday we were taking out pieces of screws and springs from people's eyes, from their hands, from their faces. It is a kind of diabolical idea,” Dr. Ghassan said.
Violation of humanitarian law
“Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law,” the UN Human rights chief said in a statement Tuesday (Sep. 18).
On Thursday (Sep. 19), the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah vowed to keep up daily strikes on Israel.
Iran reportedly told Nasrallah that Israel will face a 'crushing response" from their alliance.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attacks.
Hezbollah and Israel launched fresh attacks across the border as Hassan Nasrallah spoke.
The Chief Medical Officer, American University Hospital Beirut fears any further escalation.
“We are actually very prepared in terms of, you know, restocking our supplies and having our personnel all in alert and available to us. But, you know, if a war starts, there is not enough preparedness that anybody can have. It’s going to break the back of every single person and every single institution,” Dr. Salah Zein said.
At the request of Lebanon, Algeria has called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council.
The UN Secretary General condemned the weaponization of civilian objects.
Hezbollah said the fighting will continue until the war in Gaza ends.
The border with Lebanon is one of the fronts in the latest Gaza war.