LEBANON: Casualties of Israel's bombardment continued to pour into Sidon's local hospital

Casualties of Israel's bombardment continued to pour into Sidon's local hospital, and doctors warned of a bigger humanitarian crisis if medical assistance and aid did not reach them soon. Casualties from across the Southern part of Lebanon are being brought to the local hospital in the sea port city. Civilians, many of them children, are being treated for burns, shrapnel wounds and fractures. The hospital is over crowded with casualties that some are forced to sleep on floors. Doctor Labib Abou Daher from the hospital said there they are running out of food, medicine, and even drinking water. "We had prepared, we had anticipated sometime, before this to happening, so we had prepared and we start on our supplies. However, this is good only for a certain period of time and we're starting to feel now that we're drawing on our stock. Our reserve is becoming less and less. Certainly if this drags on and goes much longer then we will have a big problem. Medications, food, just everyday life supplies, even water, drinking water. This is getting harder and harder to secure for patients and employees of this hospital," he said. The United Nations is still waiting for Israel to guarantee safe passage of aid to areas of Lebanon hardest hit in 12 days of bombardment and Israel has pledged to let ships carrying aid to berth in Beirut, which it has blockaded for nearly two weeks. But the crucial issue was distribution within the country. Israel's air raids have damaged many roads in south Lebanon, where fighting between the Israeli army and Hizbollah guerrillas has made movement difficult and dangerous. Thousands of civilians fleeing southern Lebanon's bombardment are arriving in Sidon for refuge. But Sidon has also come under attack. In the latest violence, Israeli warplanes pounded south Lebanon in the early hours of Monday, wounding six people, including one child, at a Palestinian refugee camp in the port city of Tyre. Heavy Israeli bombardment of villages around the port city of Tyre killed one civilian and wounded three on Monday, a day after nine civilians were killed and 100 in Israeli air strikes. Two people were killed and 20 wounded when Hizbollah rockets hit houses and vehicles in Haifa, Israel's third largest city. About 50 people were wounded in similar attacks in at least 10 other towns across northern Israel. "We ask the whole world and every person who is human and who loves others, to stop this bloodshed which were are being faced with in Lebanon," added Dr. Abou Daher. The fighting broke out following Hizbollah's July 12 capture of two Israeli troops. The cross-border raid prompted Israel to launch a military campaign that also targeted civilian installations across Lebanon. More than 368 people have been killed in Lebanon and 37 in Israel. Lebanese Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh said the onslaught has wounded more than 1,550 people. Israeli Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres has questioned Lebanon's casualty toll and said the Jewish state's army was taking steps to make sure no civilian targets were hit. To find out more about Reuters visit www.about.reuters.com

ITN Source | July 25, 2006

Tags:. .northern. .crisis. .assistance. .villages. .sleep