BEIRUT: The World Health Organization delivered 32 tons of emergency medical supplies to Lebanon on Monday amid growing fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The aid, which will equip Lebanon's most under-resourced hospitals, includes at least 1,000 trauma kits to treat potential war casualties. “The goal is to deliver these supplies and medicines to hospitals … especially the most exposed places so that we can be prepared to face any emergency,” Health Minister Firas Abiad said.
The departure hall at Beirut airport was filled with families fleeing the country on Monday after countries including Saudi Arabia, France, Britain, Italy and Turkey asked their citizens to leave. “It's very sad, my God, the situation is really sad. We come out of one crisis, we go to another,” said Sherin Malah, who lives in Italy, who decided to return home after visiting her mother in Lebanon.
Germany is preparing to evacuate its citizens to safety and has prepared a transport plane to shuttle them from Beirut to Cyprus. The US urged Americans in Lebanon to “book any tickets available”, the UN asked the families of its staff to leave and the Swedish embassy moved its operations to Cyprus.
Tensions have risen since Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut last week and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Tehran. Iran said on Monday: “No one has the right to doubt Iran's legal right to punish the Zionist regime.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “determined to stand up to Iran on all fronts”.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah and Israel continue their almost daily exchange of fire. Four people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Lebanese border towns of Mes al-Jabal and Hula, and Hezbollah hit military targets with explosive drones in northern Israel.
