By Maayan Lubell and Nazih Osseiran
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT March 14 (Reuters) – The Israeli military warned on Saturday that it may strike ambulances and medical facilities which it said were being used unlawfully by Hezbollah in Lebanon, though it did not provide evidence for the claim.
“As part of its terrorist activities, Hezbollah is using ambulances extensively for military purposes,” the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman Avichai Adraee said on X, adding that such use must immediately stop.
“If this practice does not stop, Israel will act in accordance with international law against any military activity carried out by the terrorist group Hezbollah using these facilities and ambulances,” Adraee said.
A Hezbollah official said that the group was not using ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request to provide evidence that Hezbollah was using medical facilities or ambulances unlawfully.
At least 26 medics and first responders have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2 according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The Israeli military says it takes precautions to try to reduce any harm to civilians.
Iran-backed Hezbollah opened fire at Israel on March 2, saying it was retaliating for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Israel has since launched an extensive bombing campaign against the powerful Lebanese armed group, which has killed more than 700 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more, while Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets across the border.
On Friday, Israeli aircraft dropped flyers over Beirut threatening to inflict damage on Lebanon similar to the devastation wrought on Gaza during Israel’s two-year war with Palestinian militant group Hamas. Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble and its population largely displaced.
During its war in Gaza Israel launched numerous raids and attacks on hospitals, saying they were being used by militants. Hamas has denied embedding among Gaza’s civilians, though some of its tunnel network has been found running beneath hospitals.
Civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, are protected sites under international law. Both attacking hospitals and their use for military purposes are typically considered a breach of law, though they can lose their protected status under certain conditions.
On Friday Israel bombed a bridge in southern Lebanon which it said was being used by Hezbollah and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to strike national infrastructure exploited by Hezbollah.
Israel has deployed more troops to its northern border with Lebanon, and has signalled it is planning for a long campaign.
An Israeli official told Reuters on Friday that the campaign against Hezbollah would likely be intensified and continue even after strikes on Iran die down.
The official said that attacks on civilian infrastructure were being debated by the decision-makers.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Friday that his group was prepared for a long confrontation.
(Additional reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut; Writing Maayan Lubell; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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