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 least-resourced hospitals, included at least 1,000 trauma kits to treat possible war casualties. “The aim is to get these supplies and medicines to hospitals… especially in the most exposed places, so that we can be prepared to face any emergency,” Health Minister Firass Abiad said.
Beirut airport's departure hall was packed Monday with families leaving the country after countries including Saudi Arabia, France, Britain, Italy and Turkey urged their citizens to leave. “It's just really sad, oh my God, the situation is really sad. We come out of one crisis, we enter another,” said Sherin Malah, who lives in Italy and decided to return home early after a visit to her mother in Lebanon.
Germany is preparing to move its citizens to safety and has prepared transport planes to transport them from Beirut to Cyprus. The US urged Americans in Lebanon to “book any available tickets”, the UN asked the families of its staff to leave, and the Swedish embassy moved its operations to Cyprus.
Tensions have risen since Israel last week assassinated Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran hours later. 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 oppose Iran … on all fronts.”
Meanwhile, Hezbollah and Israel continued their almost daily exchange of fire. Four people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Lebanese border towns of Mays Al-Jabal and Hula, and Hezbollah hit military targets in northern Israel with explosive drones.
