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Health workers in Lebanon describe deadly Israeli attacks on colleagues and fear more

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Health workers in Lebanon describe deadly Israeli attacks on colleagues and fear more
News

News

Health workers in Lebanon describe deadly Israeli attacks on colleagues and fear more

2024-10-06 05:46 Last Updated At:05:50

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel's military struck outside the gates of a hospital in southern Lebanon without warning on Friday, killing seven paramedics and forcing the facility to close, the hospital director told The Associated Press a day after one of the most deadly attacks on health workers in the weeks since fighting escalated between Israel and Hezbollah.

The account of the Friday airstrikes that flung hospital doors off their hinges and shattered glass was the latest to detail attacks that Lebanon's health ministry says have killed dozens of health workers.

Marjayoun hospital director Mounes Kalakesh said that even before Friday's attack, ambulance crews in the area were so reluctant to operate that the facility had not received anyone wounded for days.

“We have not been able to work. There was fear and panic among the staff,” he said.

Kalakesh said the government hospital didn't receive any warning from Israeli forces before the attack, even though nearby villages have received such warnings to evacuate.

Israel has not commented specifically on the incident. Friday's attack came hours before Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman accused the Hezbollah militant group, based in southern Lebanon, of using ambulances to transport weapons and fighters, and warned medical teams to stay clear of the group. The spokesman provided no evidence.

It is a charge that Lebanese officials and hospital directors, including Kalakesh, deny. Lebanon’s health minister has accused Israel of committing “a war crime” by targeting medical teams and paramedics.

The health ministry on Thursday said 40 paramedics, firefighters and health care workers had been killed in Israeli attacks over three days, making it even more challenging to care for people wounded in the intense fighting.

The ministry has said more than 100 health workers have been killed in the year since the war in Gaza began and since Israel and Hezbollah stepped up exchanges of fire along the border.

The paramedics with the Islamic Health Committee are part of the coordinated health ministry response to crises in Lebanon. Other civil defense teams have expressed concern for their safety, with some saying they came under attack while clearly identified and operating in areas where they were transporting the wounded or putting out fires.

Israeli strikes have landed near the Marjayoun hospital before but never had come so close, Kalakesh said. He described the paramedics dying in their burning vehicles.

The 45-bed hospital is now shut down.

“I am responsible for this staff. I must protect them,” Kalakesh said, explaining the decision to evacuate. At the time of the Friday attack, there were 30 staff in the hospital. His team was already exhausted after a year of working close to the front line.

Other groups have expressed concern.

A Lebanese Red Cross convoy, escorted by Lebanese troops and coordinated with the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, came under fire on Thursday. A Lebanese soldier was killed and four Red Cross volunteers were wounded.

Separately on Thursday, Israeli forces struck rescue teams with the Islamic Health Committee in Beirut's southern suburbs and the southern village of Odeissah, killing at least four.

In Odeissah, responding ambulances were hit by Israeli fire and three medics who were wounded in the initial attack were killed as rescuers tried to reach them, the health ministry said. In the Beirut suburbs, the team working to remove rubble from the initial airstrike was hit in a drone attack that killed a driver and wounded seven, said Islamic Health Committee spokesman Mahmoud Karaki.

Targeting the health sector undermines the safety net for the public, Karaki said, He said 145 of his team members have been wounded over the past year.

Lebanon’s health ministry has said nine hospitals and 45 health care centers have been damaged during that time.

Hours after the Friday attack outside Marjayoun hospital, another hospital in the southern town of Bint Jbeil was shelled by Israeli forces after receiving a warning to evacuate. Nine members of the medical and nursing staff at Salah Ghandour Hospital were wounded, most of them seriously.

The hospital later shut down because of the damage.

A man runs for cover as a smoke raises in the background following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man runs for cover as a smoke raises in the background following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A truck and ambulance burn after Israeli airstrikes hit a group of paramedics outside a hospital in Marjayoun, south Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)

A truck and ambulance burn after Israeli airstrikes hit a group of paramedics outside a hospital in Marjayoun, south Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)

A truck and ambulance burn after Israeli airstrikes hit a group of paramedics outside a hospital in Marjayoun, south Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)

A truck and ambulance burn after Israeli airstrikes hit a group of paramedics outside a hospital in Marjayoun, south Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Once general manager Ohemaa Nyanin and her Golden State Valkyries staff had decided who to pick in the WNBA expansion draft, the first challenge became reaching each player with the news before she heard it anywhere else.

That meant considering practice times, game schedules, time zones and potential sleep times. It all seemed worthwhile on Friday night when the roster began taking shape.

The way Nyanin looks at it, they are all part of history, about to join something being built from the ground up.

“I just want these players to be happy,” Nyanin said. “I want them to understand the opportunity that they have to come and be historians. Once you get to put on that jersey and you get to sit in front of a packed Chase Center, your whole experience is going to change.”

The Valkyries selected center Iliana Rupert from Atlanta, guards Veronica Burton of Connecticut and Carla Leite of Dallas and forward Maria Conde from Chicago with their initial picks on Friday, the first players for the new Bay Area franchise that's set to begin play next season.

Golden State rounded out its 11-woman roster with Indiana center Temi Fagbenle; Las Vegas guard Kate Martin; forwards Steph Talbot of Los Angeles, Cecilia Zandalasini of Minnesota, Kayla Thornton of New York and Monique Billings of Phoenix; and Washington guard Julie Vanloo. The Valkyries did not choose a player from Seattle.

Thornton is riding high after helping the Liberty to a WNBA title. Martin, a second-round draft pick this year who played with Caitlin Clark at Iowa, could get more playing time and enjoy a big jump in productivity after she averaged 11.5 minutes and 2.6 points as a rookie with the Aces.

Nyanin described the process of starting a new team as “complex.”

“I think these athletes are a really good step forward in our journey,” said Nyanin, who also had conversations about trades. “I was so excited about the blank canvas, and then behind closed doors it was blank. Nobody's name just appeared or anything so there was a lot of work that myself and my team put into it. The complexities around it is what I want to continue to highlight because these are 11 humans, right? They all thought one thing and they woke up today or are still sleeping and they're a part of the Golden State Valkyries.”

The team plans to be active when free agency starts in February.

Golden State did extensive scouting work and had discussions on each player to determine how she might fit in a new system.

“It's a long process but it's also a great process for us,” coach Natalie Nakase said. “We kind of did this cycle, where we collaborate, we discuss and then we go watch film, then do it again ... and that went over and over again for about two months. And finally we decided, we picked the best players that fit our culture. So we're excited and can't wait to get going.”

This marked the WNBA's first expansion draft in 16 years since the Atlanta Dream joined the league in 2008.

Golden State was free to acquire the contract or negotiating rights to one player from each of the other 12 WNBA teams. The Valkyries can also choose one player from the league who's eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

The Valkyries will play at Chase Center, the 5-year-old home of the Golden State Warriors, and practice across the bay in the organization's Oakland training facility.

Warriors star Draymond Green sported a Valkyries jersey with No. 25 on the back — for the inaugural campaign of 2025 — while sitting out injured during Thursday's win over the Houston Rockets.

There is already plenty of hype in San Francisco and beyond.

And there was excitement on both sides during those initial calls to the players.

“We got some really good reactions,” Nyanin said. “We talked about it just internally the three of us, like, ‘Should we have taped that, should we have kind of screen recorded or something?’ I'm very happy that we didn't. That's a moment that we will get to share just the four of us with each of the different athletes.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

FILE - Golden State Valkyries WNBA head coach Natalie Nakase waves before an NBA preseason basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings in San Francisco, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FILE - Golden State Valkyries WNBA head coach Natalie Nakase waves before an NBA preseason basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings in San Francisco, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

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