Lebanon: medical aid stacks up and tourists leave, war looms
The Middle East braces for conflict following the killings of the political chief of Hamas and top commander of Hezbollah by Israel, as countries in the region prepare for Iran’s promise of ‘revenge’.
Such preparations can be seen in Lebanon, which has received emergency medical supplies for hospitals expecting war injuries whilst Beirut airport stands packed with people trying to leave the country amid fears of an all-out conflict, reported Reuters on August 5th.
Hospitals in southern Lebanon, where most of the tit-for-tat missile exchanges on the border between Hezbollah and Israel have taken place, have been significantly worn down. Combined with the nation’s years-long economic meltdown and constant flow of wounded patients in the last ten months, medical facilities across Lebanon are in poor shape.
The World Health Organisation delivered 32 tons of medical supplies to Lebanon’s Health Ministry on August 5th. The delivery included at least 1,000 trauma kits to treat those who may be wounded by war.
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“The goal is to get these supplies and medicines to various hospitals and to the health sector in Lebanon, especially in the places most exposed (to hostilities) so that we can be ready to deal with any emergency,” announced Health Minister Firass Abiad to reporters at the airport landing strip where aid had arrived.
A short walk away, the departure hall is filled with families of Lebanese origin who had come to the country for summer queuing to check in for their departing flights, saddened by the prospect of leaving.
Countries such as France, Britain, Italy, Turkey, and others have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon as long as commercial flights run. The UN has even pushed for families of its staff to Lebanon whilst the Swedish Embassy has temporarily relocated its staff to Cyrpus.
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“It is just very sad, oh God, the situation is really sad. We get out of a crisis, we go into another one,” said Sherin Malah, a Lebanese citizen living in Italy who came to visit her mother in Lebanon but now sees her trip cut short.
Others in Lebanon, however, appear more relaxed with the situation. The beaches of Tyre, Lebanon’s port city located 20km from the Israeli border, are seen with children splashing in the sea whilst plumes of black smoke rise into the sky from the hills due to Israeli shelling.
Tyre resident Ghalib Badawy told Reuters, “As for the current situation, as you can see, all the people are by the beach, this land is our land, and we will not leave it.”
Reuters and agencies
