Iran Lebanon's health sector plans for an emergency

Concerned about an escalation in the Middle East, hospitals in Lebanon are preparing for an emergency. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, hospitals in the economically shaken country have a stockpile for around four months.

"There are areas in which we are clearly not as well prepared as we would like to be," Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad told the German Press Agency. These include, above all, the mental health of the population. The everyday stress level of the population is generally very tense.

This has increased again in recent days: "When Israeli fighter jets fly low over Beirut and break through the sound barrier, it reminds the population of previous disasters: The civil war or the port explosion." No one is physically harmed. But the bangs - which often sound like huge explosions - cause psychological trauma. People's reactions showed the anxiety they had to deal with.

Hospitals have "just enough"

According to Abiad, the healthcare sector is already under pressure. Since 2019, the country on the Mediterranean has been in the worst economic crisis in its history. Around 30 percent of doctors and nurses have already left the country due to the crisis. Many hospitals are only equipped with minimal supplies. "Some of them are working on the principle of 'just enough'," says Abiad.

What's more, in the event of an escalation, the ports or airports could also become a target and become inoperable. Should such a situation arise, the supplies of the largest public hospital in Lebanon, the Rafik Hariri Hospital, would last for a maximum of ten days. If it were to be flooded with patients, supplies could run out after just a few days, director Jihad Saadeh told dpa.

Following Israel's killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week, the head of the Shiite militia, Hassan Nasrallah, announced retaliation. There are fears that Hezbollah, which is active in Lebanon, will launch an attack on Israel together with Iran. Iran and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which is also allied with Tehran, also hold Israel responsible for the killing of Hamas foreign leader Ismail Haniya in the Iranian capital. Israel has not yet publicly commented on this.

SDA