WHO Warns of Imminent Trauma Kit Shortage in Lebanon

GENEVA, April 9 - Lebanon's hospitals face an imminent shortage of critical trauma medical kits, the World Health Organization warned Thursday, as supplies dwindle amid a surge in casualties from large-scale Israeli airstrikes over the past day.

The strikes, which intensified Wednesday with Israel's most extensive attacks of the conflict, killed more than 250 people and injured over 1,000, according to health officials. Additional bombings targeted sites in Lebanon on Thursday, overwhelming medical facilities and rapidly depleting stockpiles of lifesaving materials. Trauma kits, essential for treating war injuries, contain items such as bandages, antibiotics and anesthetics. "Some of the trauma management supplies were in short supply, and we may run out in a few days," said Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar, the WHO representative in Lebanon.

The shortages stem from the sheer volume of patients treated, with the majority being civilians. Hospitals exhausted roughly three weeks' worth of supplies in a single day, Abubakar explained. He cautioned that another wave of mass casualties could overwhelm the system entirely. "If we have another mass casualty, like what happened yesterday, it will...