Iraq treats hundreds of Lebanese nationals arriving with injuries

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hundreds of Lebanese nationals with varying degrees of injuries have arrived in Iraq, the country’s Red Crescent Society said on Friday, as thousands fleeing the conflict have sought refuge in the country.

“Nearly 300 injured cases were received, with injuries ranging from minor to severe,” Ali Majeed, head of the health department for the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, told Rudaw's Zana Kayani.

Over 100 injured individuals were transferred to hospitals under the Iraqi Health Ministry, and the rest were treated in field hospitals, Majeed said.

Lebanese nationals have been welcomed by local governments and residents in Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf, Basra, Wasit, Salahaddin, and Nineveh provinces, according to the Red Crescent official.

Ali Abbas, spokesperson for Iraq’s migration ministry, told Rudaw on Wednesday that more than 7,000 Lebanese nationals have sought refuge in Iraq.

The United Nations in late September, citing Lebanese officials, reported that more than 1,600 people have been killed and 8,000 wounded in Lebanon by Israeli bombardments since October 2023.

The Iraqi Red Crescent Society is committed to providing “all services to the guests of Iraq to preserve their dignity,” Majeed added.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday directed local authorities to refer to Lebanese people entering the country as “guests of Iraq,” instead of refugees.

Majeed said the government has made plans to “settle all those currently present to ensure their return to life and secure the means of living for them by employing and integrating them into Iraqi society, so they can regain their health, be rehabilitated, and secure their future,” adding that they are also working with the Iraqi Education Ministry to “return students to schools.”

The Iraqi health organization has also provided humanitarian aid to Lebanon through air and ground since the latest conflict escalated in September, according to Majeed.

On Tuesday, Lilly Carlisle, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, said that the Iraqi government has taken the lead in hosting Lebanese arrivals and ensuring they have access to essential services like healthcare and education.

Israel has targeted sites in Lebanon since its war with Hamas started a year ago, but it has recently escalated its ground operations and airstrikes. Since the conflict began, 1.2 million people, nearly a quarter of the Lebanese population, have been displaced, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in early October.