Lebanon condemns killing of paramedics in Israeli strike on rescue team

A Lebanese Red Cross ambulance crew responding to a previous airstrike in Beit Yahoun came under fire on Sunday evening, killing paramedic Hassan Badawi and injuring another medic in southern Lebanon. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the team was on an emergency medical mission in the Bint Jbeil district when the strike hit, a case that puts a spotlight on the protections international humanitarian law gives to medical personnel.

The federation strongly condemned the killing, and the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was deeply concerned by attacks on medical workers in Lebanon. Those protections are not abstract. Under the laws of war, ambulances, paramedics and other emergency responders are supposed to be spared unless they are directly taking part in hostilities, a standard that has taken on growing urgency as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified across Lebanon.

Lebanon’s government condemned the killing as a flagrant crime, while health authorities said the attack fit a broader pattern of strikes on rescue workers. Recent reporting has put the scale of the toll in stark terms: Lebanon’s Ministry of Health has said at least 54 health workers were among more than 1,400 people killed by Israel during the current invasion. Human rights groups and Lebanese officials have argued that first responders are being hit alongside civilians.

The latest deaths came against the backdrop of one of the deadliest days since the conflict flared back into full-scale war. United Nations and World Health Organization reporting said roughly 300 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon on April 10, one of the highest single-day death tolls since the renewed hostilities. That level of destruction has deepened fears that the space for civilians, medics and rescue teams is shrinking fast.

Israel has repeatedly said it is targeting Hezbollah positions and leaders, but Lebanese officials say civilians and emergency workers are being struck in the process. The attack on the rescue team in Beit Yahoun, followed by other high-casualty strikes in southern Lebanon and Beirut, has sharpened scrutiny of Israel’s conduct and raised the stakes for every ambulance call now moving through the conflict zone.