Lina Altawell
25 September 2026•Update: 25 September 2026
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Friday that protecting paramedics, medical and humanitarian personnel and ensuring their safe access to people in need are a “legal and humanitarian duty,” stressing that Israel is “no exception” to obligations under international humanitarian law.
Aoun made the remarks at the opening of the 12th Regional Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in the Middle East and North Africa in Beirut.
“Even war has rules,” Aoun said, stressing that international humanitarian law imposes clear obligations on all parties to a conflict.
“Protecting paramedics, medical and humanitarian personnel, ensuring their safe access to those in need and respecting the emblems of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is not a matter of choice, but a legal and humanitarian duty,” he said.
“A paramedic must not become a target,” Aoun added. “Israel is no exception.”
He cited the deaths of paramedics Youssef Raymond Assaf and Hassan Ali Badawi while carrying out their humanitarian duties during recent Israeli attacks.
Aoun also noted that 13 Lebanese Red Cross paramedics and volunteers were injured while performing their humanitarian duties.
The Lebanese Red Cross continues to carry out its duties under difficult security conditions, with its role during the war extending beyond emergency response to the delivery of humanitarian aid to dangerous areas, Aoun said.
“Its work also includes contributing to prisoner-related issues and coordinating ambulance and rescue teams in cooperation with the Lebanese army, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the mechanism monitoring the cessation of hostilities,” he added.
“Red Cross teams have responded to tens of thousands of cases, with their services reaching areas across Lebanon,” Aoun said.
He noted that the organization’s humanitarian mission has come at a cost, with dozens of its personnel killed.
“Recent years have represented the toughest test of humanitarian values,” Aoun said, pointing to the Lebanese Red Cross’s role during the coronavirus pandemic, the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion, the economic collapse and the current war.
“The organization continues its work amid ongoing risks, the displacement of families, the shelling of villages and towns, and the need of thousands of Lebanese for assistance,” he added.
Aoun said the Red Cross’s mission is not limited to wartime, noting that it provides more than 1 million services annually to Lebanese citizens and residents.
“Those services include ambulance and emergency response, blood services, primary health care, relief assistance, psychological support and family reunification,” he said.
Aoun said one of the Lebanese Red Cross’s key achievements is the trust it enjoys among the Lebanese people, describing its experience as a model for the institutions Lebanon aspires to build that serve citizens efficiently and without discrimination.
He stressed that the state has a duty to protect the Red Cross’s mission, support its capabilities and help ensure the continuity of its services.
Aoun also called for preserving the culture of volunteering and passing it on to future generations, urging Lebanese people, Lebanon’s friends and its partners to stand alongside the Lebanese Red Cross.
Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-brokered “framework formula” in Washington on June 26, providing for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the deployment of the Lebanese army in areas vacated by Israeli forces.
Aoun had previously said the greatest challenge in southern Lebanon was securing Israel’s withdrawal from occupied villages and towns and deploying the Lebanese army to the international border, while stressing efforts with Lebanon’s partners to press for compliance with the framework agreement.
Despite signing the framework, Israel continues to carry out attacks on southern Lebanon and still occupies areas in the south, some of which it has occupied for decades and others of which were seized during recent wars and military operations.