Chicago – March 14, 2026
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that 12 doctors, paramedics, and nurses died in a strike on the Bourj Qalaouiyeh primary healthcare center in southern Lebanon late Friday.
In a post on X, Tedros described the deaths of these 12 workers, plus two paramedics killed earlier that day in an attack on a facility in Al Sowana, as a “tragic development in the escalating Middle East crisis,” bringing the 24-hour toll to 14 health workers.
The incident occurs amid Israel’s extensive bombing campaign against Hezbollah, which has killed over 770 people and displaced hundreds of thousands, while the group has launched rockets into Israel.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported the strike as targeting medical personnel on duty, raising alarms over attacks on healthcare amid the conflict.
WHO has urged protection for health facilities as the regional war intensifies.
