Responding to\u00a0the\u00a0killings and injuries of\u00a0dozens of healthcare workers and first responders in Lebanon\u00a0since 2 March\u00a02026, amid\u00a0escalating\u00a0attacks\u00a0by the Israeli military\u00a0and\u00a0its\u00a0allegations\u00a0\u2013 without\u00a0providing\u00a0evidence \u2013 that\u00a0ambulances and healthcare sites\u00a0are\u00a0being used for military activities\u00a0and\u00a0may\u00a0be targeted,\u00a0Kristine Beckerle,\u00a0Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa\u00a0at Amnesty International, said:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael is\u00a0deploying the same deadly\u00a0playbook it used in 2024\u00a0in Lebanon\u00a0to kill dozens of health workers and\u00a0devastate\u00a0healthcare\u00a0services.\u00a0Amnesty International\u2019s past research\u00a0highlighted how the Israeli military repeatedly carried out unlawful attacks on health facilities and health workers during the 2024\u00a0escalation\u00a0and\u00a0we\u00a0called for these to be investigated as war crimes.\u00a0The Israeli military has also repeatedly and unlawfully attacked health facilities\u00a0and medical teams<\/a>\u00a0in Gaza, as part of a broader pattern of devastating essential services.\u00a0There has yet to be any accountability or redress\u00a0for those\u00a0violations, and now\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0seeing healthcare workers\u00a0once again\u00a0killed\u00a0and\u00a0wounded.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Throwing out accusations claiming that healthcare facilities and ambulances are being used for military\u00a0purposes\u00a0without providing any evidence does not justify treating hospitals, medical facilities or medical transport as battlefields or treating doctors and paramedics as targets.<\/p>\n Kristine Beckerle,\u00a0Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa\u00a0at Amnesty International<\/p>\n \u201cHealthcare workers are\u00a0risking their lives to save others, and hospitals, other medical facilities and ambulances are specifically protected under international humanitarian law.\u00a0Throwing out accusations claiming that healthcare facilities and ambulances are being used for military\u00a0purposes\u00a0without providing any evidence does not justify treating hospitals, medical facilities or medical transport as battlefields or treating doctors and paramedics as targets. Under international humanitarian law parties to a conflict must ensure to distinguish between military\u00a0objectives\u00a0and civilian objects.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHospitals and medical transports only lose their protection if they are used for acts that are considered\u00a0\u2018harmful to the enemy,\u2019\u00a0and\u00a0even then, can only be targeted after a warning that gives sufficient time for the evacuation of patients and staff goes unheeded.\u00a0In cases of doubt as to whether medical facilities are being used to\u00a0contribute to military activity, they should be presumed not to be so used. An attack on a medical facility that has lost its protected status must adhere to the rules on precautions, distinction and proportionality and\u00a0consider carefully\u00a0the adverse effects that attacking medical facilities has on civilians, the sick and wounded.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUnder international humanitarian law, civilians, including healthcare workers, do not lose their protected status\u00a0simply\u00a0based on an\u00a0affiliation.\u00a0As such,\u00a0direct attacks on\u00a0medical personnel and those working in civil defence\u00a0merely\u00a0on the basis that they are working for institutions associated with\u00a0Hezbollah\u00a0are\u00a0strictly prohibited.\u00a0Deliberately striking\u00a0medics performing their humanitarian functions\u00a0is a serious\u00a0violation of international humanitarian law and could\u00a0constitute\u00a0a\u00a0war crime.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAll parties must\u00a0uphold\u00a0their legal obligation to protect\u00a0civilians,\u00a0medical personnel,\u00a0patients\u00a0and healthcare infrastructure\u00a0at all times. The protection of healthcare is not optional \u2014 it is a binding rule of war.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Background\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the\u00a0World Health Organization<\/a>,\u00a0between\u00a02\u00a0and\u00a015\u00a0March\u00a02026, 28\u00a0attacks on healthcare have been\u00a0recorded, killing 30 people and injuring 35.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Lebanon\u2019s Ministry of Public Health\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that as of 16 March 2026,\u00a040\u00a0health workers have been killed and\u00a096\u00a0injured. These include healthcare workers affiliated with the Islamic Health Association \u2013 a civilian institution affiliated with Hezbollah that provides medical and emergency services across Lebanon in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Islamic Risala Scout Association, as well as one paramedic from the Lebanese Red Cross.\u00a0The Ministry also reported that\u00a0five\u00a0hospitals\u00a0had been forced to close.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In a recent\u00a0statement<\/a>, Israeli military spokesperson\u00a0Avichay\u00a0Adraee\u00a0alleged that ambulances\u00a0and medical facilities\u00a0in Lebanon are being used for military purposes. The Lebanese ministry of health\u00a0denied<\/a>\u00a0the claim.\u00a0The Israeli military had made a similar claim in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n