Red Cross calls for protection of medical workers in Lebanon

ICRC called on Monday for Lebanon's health care system to be protected after reports that Israeli strikes hit medical staff during fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. After nearly a year of cross-border fire, Israel on September 23 dramatically escalated its air strikes targeting Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Five hospitals have shut "as a result of structural damage following attacks", while attacks on health workers and facilities in Lebanon have caused almost 100 deaths in a year. The ICRC's priority was shipping in aid and supporting a health sector already battered by five years of economic crisis, and helping to set up trauma units in Beirut and in east Lebanon.