Lebanon: Mass casualties after Israeli strike on residential Beirut
MSF condemns this attack on civilians in a highly populated area and calls for the protection of civilians and health facilities
“A man arrived with severe bleeding from his head, panicked, searching for his young child who was also injured,” said Dr. Luna Hammad, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Dr. Hammad was part of an MSF team at Rafik Hariri Public Hospital providing emergency support. “Only after learning his son was safe did he allow doctors to tend to him — then we realized he had lost his ear.”
These are not isolated incidents. Yesterday alone, Israeli attacks across Lebanon killed 39 people, bringing the death toll in Lebanon to 1,461 since March 2, according to official sources.
Israeli forces struck a densely populated residential area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday afternoon, about 300 feet from Rafik Hariri Public Hospital. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is supporting the hospital with an emergency room doctor.
A mass-casualty influx followed: people bleeding, some carried on shoulders. In the first hour, four were killed and nearly 40 injured; more casualties are feared as rubble is cleared.
“We are seeing elderly people and adolescents arriving with critical injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen, including shrapnel wounds,” says Dr. Luna Hammad, MSF medical coordinator, from the emergency room at Rafik Hariri Public Hospital. “When strikes hit crowded residential areas without warning, the consequences are severe, both in human casualties and in hospitals’ capacity to respond.”
Inside the hospital, teams are prioritizing the most critical cases. People with chronic conditions or acute medical needs unrelated to the blast are waiting longer, and some may not be seen at all, according to Dr. Hammad.
MSF is donating a mass casualty kit and will continue supporting hospitals with medical expertise and essential supplies.
MSF condemns this attack on civilians in a highly populated area and calls for the protection of civilians and health facilities. Strikes this close to a hospital spread fear and can stop people from seeking lifesaving care. Civilians cannot become collateral damage.
