Health Minister Uriel Buso has ordered the reversal of a directive to prepare hospitals for treating wounded residents of the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon during the Iron Swords War.
The Ministry of Health sent this directive to Israeli hospital heads recently, sparking sharp controversy among many doctors. With ongoing hostilities, Hamas-held hostages, and daily shelling from Lebanon into border towns, admitting enemy civilians for treatment on "humanitarian grounds" has posed challenges for health officials.
According to Mako's report on Friday, January 19, Health Minister Uriel Buso requested the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, to inform hospital directors about the cancellation of the directive.
He emphasized that the directive was issued without his knowledge or consent, and without necessary discussions involving the minister, security service representatives, and Ministry of Health officials.
Buso clarified that there has been no change in the policy preventing Israel from treating wartime terrorists and residents of Gaza and Lebanon, and any proposed changes will be carefully evaluated.
Earlier, on Thursday, January 18, reports emerged that the Ministry of Health had instructed Israeli hospitals to prepare for receiving injured residents of the Gaza Strip and Lebanon during the Iron Swords War. The Ministry cited "humanitarian considerations" and "political and military considerations" related to Israel's obligations under international laws and conventions.
Under the directive, the IDF military rescue services were to evacuate injured Palestinians and Lebanese, with decisions on each case made by the commanding officer of the military operation and the military doctor in the combat area.
The letter also specified that all hospitals were required to participate in the mission, with the distribution of wounded patients among hospitals based on workload, urgency, and the number of incoming casualties.
