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Since March 2, 2026, Israeli military operations in Lebanon have killed 40 healthcare workers and injured 96 others, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health. The World Health Organization has recorded 28 separate attacks on healthcare in that two-week period, killing 30 people and injuring 35. Five hospitals have been forced to close. On March 19, Amnesty International issued a stark warning: Israel is repeating the pattern of unlawful healthcare attacks that characterized its 2024 Lebanon campaign — and which Amnesty previously called war crimes.
The Israeli Military's Justification — And Why It Fails
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee alleged that ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon are being used for military purposes. The Lebanese Ministry of Health denied the claim. Amnesty International noted that Israel made identical allegations in 2024 — and that Amnesty's own investigation of four attacks in a single week of that year found no indications that the targeted facilities had been used for military purposes or acts harmful to the enemy.
Under international humanitarian law, accusations alone do not justify targeting medical facilities. Hospitals and medical transport only lose protected status if actually used for acts harmful to the enemy — and even then, only after an unheeded warning allowing patient evacuation. In cases of doubt, medical facilities must be presumed civilian.
Israel is deploying the same deadly playbook it used in 2024 in Lebanon to kill dozens of health workers and devastate healthcare services. Throwing out accusations claiming that healthcare facilities and ambulances are being used for military purposes without providing any evidence does not justify treating hospitals, medical facilities or medical transport as battlefields.
Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for MENA
Healthcare Workers Affiliated With Hezbollah Institutions
Among those killed were healthcare workers affiliated with the Islamic Health Association — a civilian institution affiliated with Hezbollah that provides medical and emergency services across Lebanon in collaboration with the government's Ministry of Health. Amnesty stated explicitly that under IHL, civilians do not lose protected status simply based on affiliation.
"Direct attacks on medical personnel and those working in civil defence merely on the basis that they are working for institutions associated with Hezbollah are strictly prohibited," Amnesty said. "Deliberately striking medics performing their humanitarian functions is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and could constitute a war crime."
A Pattern With No Accountability
Amnesty emphasized that none of the attacks from the 2024 Lebanon escalation — documented and condemned by international organizations — have been subject to any credible investigation or accountability process. This culture of impunity, the organization argues, is what makes the current pattern not only foreseeable but predictable. With no consequences, no deterrent exists.
What Our Experts Say
When healthcare workers are killed in the same manner as the previous campaign, with the same justifications rejected by the same evidence, we are no longer talking about mistakes. We are talking about a policy — and a policy of attacking healthcare is a war crime.
Senior Human Rights Expert, The Human Rights
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