The BBC's Middle East correspondent, Hugo Bachega, recently embedded with paramedic teams in Nabatieh, Lebanon, a city now largely abandoned after intense Israeli airstrikes. The firsthand account reveals the severe humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region.
"At one destroyed ambulance station, a paramedic pointed to the exact spot where his colleague was killed by an Israeli strike while on the phone with his wife," Bachega reported.
Since renewed hostilities began in March, approximately one in five Lebanese residents has been displaced from their homes, according to local estimates. The conflict has placed immense strain on emergency medical services, with health workers operating under constant threat.
The Israeli military has asserted that some ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon are being utilized by Hezbollah forces. However, paramedics on the ground vehemently deny these allegations, stating there is no evidence to support such claims.
In a separate incident, the Israel Defense Forces announced that troops killed over 20 Hezbollah fighters who were allegedly operating from a hospital compound in Bint Jbeil on Sunday. This location was a focal point of fierce combat during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon's health ministry has rejected Israel's statement, accusing Israeli forces of deliberately targeting civilians and medical infrastructure. The ministry emphasized that such attacks violate international humanitarian law.
The situation highlights the dangerous conditions facing healthcare workers and the escalating humanitarian toll as cross-border strikes continue between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanon-Israel frontier.