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WORLD NEWS Monday 7 october 2024
Health workers in Lebanon describe deadly Israeli attacks on

colleagues and fear more

By SARAH EL DEEB and BAS- hicles.
SEM MROUE The 45-bed hospital is now
Associated Press shut down.
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel's military "I am responsible for this
struck outside the gates of a staff. I must protect them,"
hospital in southern Lebanon Kalakesh said, explaining
without warning on Friday, the decision to evacuate.
killing seven paramedics At the time of the Friday at-
and forcing the facility to tack, there were 30 staff in
close, the hospital director the hospital. His team was
told The Associated Press a already exhausted after a
day after one of the most year of working close to the
deadly attacks on health front line.
workers in the weeks since Other groups have ex-
fighting escalated between pressed concern.
Israel and Hezbollah. A Lebanese Red Cross con-
The account of the Friday voy, escorted by Lebanese
airstrikes that flung hospital troops and coordinated
doors off their hinges and with the U.N. peacekeeping
shattered glass was the lat- force in Lebanon, came un-
est to detail attacks that der fire on Thursday. A Leba-
Lebanon's health ministry nese soldier was killed and
says have killed dozens of four Red Cross volunteers
health workers. were wounded.
Marjayoun hospital director A truck and ambulance burn after Israeli airstrikes hit a group of paramedics outside a hospital in Separately on Thursday,
Mounes Kalakesh said that Marjayoun, south Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. Israeli forces struck rescue
even before Friday's at- Associated Press teams with the Islamic
tack, ambulance crews in Health Committee in Beirut's
the area were so reluctant before Israel's Arabic-lan- and paramedics. Islamic Health Committee southern suburbs and the
to operate that the facility guage military spokesman The health ministry on Thurs- are part of the coordinat- southern village of Odeissah,
had not received anyone accused the Hezbollah day said 40 paramedics, ed health ministry response killing at least four.
wounded for days. militant group, based in firefighters and health care to crises in Lebanon. Other In Odeissah, responding am-
"We have not been able to southern Lebanon, of using workers had been killed in civil defense teams have bulances were hit by Israeli
work. There was fear and ambulances to transport Israeli attacks over three expressed concern for their fire and three medics who
panic among the staff," he weapons and fighters, and days, making it even more safety, with some saying were wounded in the initial
said. warned medical teams to challenging to care for peo- they came under attack attack were killed as rescu-
Kalakesh said the govern- stay clear of the group. The ple wounded in the intense while clearly identified and ers tried to reach them, the
ment hospital didn't receive spokesman provided no evi- fighting. operating in areas where health ministry said. In the
any warning from Israeli forc- dence. The ministry has said more they were transporting the Beirut suburbs, the team
es before the attack, even It is a charge that Lebanese than 100 health workers wounded or putting out fires. working to remove rubble
though nearby villages have officials and hospital direc- have been killed in the year Israeli strikes have landed from the initial airstrike was
received such warnings to tors, including Kalakesh, since the war in Gaza began near the Marjayoun hospital hit in a drone attack that
evacuate. deny. Lebanon's health and since Israel and Hezbol- before but never had come killed a driver and wounded
Israel has not commented minister has accused Israel lah stepped up exchanges so close, Kalakesh said. He seven, said Islamic Health
specifically on the incident. of committing "a war crime" of fire along the border. described the paramedics Committee spokesman
Friday's attack came hours by targeting medical teams The paramedics with the dying in their burning ve- Mahmoud Karaki.q

Attempts to cross the English Channel on small
boats leave 4 migrants, including a child, dead

PARIS (AP) — French authori- deadly crossings." Fourteen other migrants
ties said four migrants, includ- Saturday's deaths come as picked up on board the re-
ing a 2-year-old child, died a series of shipwrecks made cue boat were brought back
Saturday in two separate in- 2024 the deadliest in recent to France to be interviewed
cidents as they attempted years on the English Chan- by the border police and a
to cross the English Channel nel. Last month, 12 people 17-year-old was brought to
toward Britain. died after a boat carrying a hospital in the port city of
France's Interior Minister migrants ripped apart in the Boulogne-sur-Mer as he suf-
Bruno Retailleau deplored a English Channel. About two fered from burns to his legs,
"terrible tragedy" on X, saying weeks later, eight migrants Billant said. A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to
that the child "was trampled died in a similar crossing at- Other people on the migrant Dover, England, from the RNLI Dover Lifeboat following a small
to death in a boat." tempt. boat who refused to be res- boat incident in the English Channel, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
"The smugglers have the In a news conference, the cued continued their journey Associated Press
blood of these people on prefect of the Pas-de-Calais, toward Britain, he said.
their hands," Retailleau add- Jacques Billant, said rescu- "To make money and with dren, "literally leading them who appears to have been
ed, saying his newly-appoint- ers found the 2-year-old child no regard for human life, to accident and death," Bil- crushed in a jostling on the
ed government is to "intensify dead onboard a migrant networks of smugglers put lant said. boat, was born in Germany
the fight against these mafias boat that had called for as- people at ever greater risk," Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor from a 24-year-old Somalian
who make money from these sistance Saturday morning. including families with chil- Guirec Le Bras, said the child, mother.q