PSI Condemns the Killing of Dozens of Health Workers in Lebanon by Israel 

These attacks have escalated since March 2nd, resulting in the deaths of at least 31 health workers including nurses, first responders, and doctors who were on duty when an Israeli airstrike was launched on a primary healthcare centre in southern Lebanon. 

In a statement issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO, stressed that this marks “a tragic development in the escalating Middle East crisis.”  

PSI General Secretary Daniel Bertossa said: “These acts are unconscionable. They strip communities of lifesaving care at the very moment it is needed most, and they deepen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation. As the global voice for health worker unions, PSI has always made it clear that there must be zero tolerance for targeting of healthcare workers in conflict zones. World leaders cannot allow such attacks to become normalised." 

PSI recently brought the voices of health workers in conflict zones to the highest levels of global policy making during our event on the eve of the recent WHO Executive Board meeting. At least 927 health workers were killed in 2024 alone; almost double the 2023 total.  

This disturbing global trend is now being called a “healthocide” - a term used to describe the systematic killing of health professionals. PSI members in Gaza’s health sector continue to bear witness to such attacks, which have resulted in the killings of hundreds of health staff. 

Now the escalating conflict across the region is putting countless health workers and first responders at risk. PSI has joined with global union federations to call for de-escalation and a ceasefire along with an end to targeting of health workers and infrastructure.