Why are health workers being targeted in southern Lebanon?

Bassel Doueik, Lebanon and Jordan Researcher at ACLED, said: 

“The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has carried out at least 95 incidents of violence against health and aid workers, civil defense members, and paramedics in Lebanon since 2 March. More than 100 of the over 195 total people killed in these attacks were paramedics and health workers, as recorded by ACLED data. The attacks have primarily targeted two organizations: the Islamic Risala Scout Association and the Islamic Health Society, which are affiliated with the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, respectively and operate as first relief responders to Israeli attacks, especially in Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon. 

"However, out of the 95 incidents of violence against healthcare personnel, over a quarter of attacks were recorded against organizations not affiliated with Hezbollah or the Amal Movement. These organizations include other independent emergency and humanitarian actors like the Lebanese Red Cross, the Lebanon Civil Defense, and other local emergency services. 

“The repeated targeting of first responders and ambulances arriving at an initial strike scene points to a deliberate “double-tap” strategy intended to disrupt rescue operations and inflict casualties. One such incident occurred on 15 April, after an Israeli airstrike hit the town of Mayfadoun and ambulance teams affiliated with the Islamic Health Society were dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival, the ambulance was targeted, killing one paramedic. Another ambulance that was dispatched to the area to assist was also targeted, injuring three paramedics. In a third rescue attempt, two ambulances from the Islamic Risala Scout Association and Nabatieh Emergency Services responded, but they too were targeted, resulting in the killing of two paramedics and the injury of three others.

“The IDF’s targeting of Hezbollah- and Amal Movement-affiliated organizations indicates a strategy of eliminating Hezbollah’s para-state infrastructure, which relies on social and medical institutions to socialize and mobilize the Shiite community. By targeting  healthcare infrastructure, paramedics, and civil defense teams, the attacks eliminate vital signs of civilian life, effectively preventing displaced populations from returning to areas south of the Litani River and contributing to Israel's broader geopolitical plan to establish a multilayered buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Ultimately, by hollowing out Hezbollah’s parallel institutional network and preventing civilian re-entry, this strategy could create a vacuum that the Lebanese state might eventually fill with its own formal institutions.”