Lebanon surprised after Kuwait includes hospitals on ‘terror’ list

Lebanon’s health ministry expresses surprise and says it will seek clarification after Kuwait includes several private hospitals in the Mediterranean country on its “terror” list.

Kuwait’s foreign ministry issues a circular indicating that it had listed the eight hospitals as part of regulations related to “combating terrorism.”

The facilities are located in and serve residents of south and east Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs — all strongholds of the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, which Kuwait’s circular does not mention.

Lebanon’s health ministry says it received the Kuwaiti statement “with great surprise,” adding it has not been provided with “any information or notification from any Kuwaiti entity about this matter.”

“The hospitals mentioned in the statement are registered with the syndicate of private hospitals in Lebanon and carry out their role in providing treatment and health services to all Lebanese without exception,” the health ministry statement says.

It calls the facilities “an essential part of the Lebanese health system,” and says it will contact the relevant authorities to request clarification and to “present the correct facts” and “protect Lebanon’s health system.”

The eight hospitals include two in Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area Israel heavily bombarded during its yearlong conflict with Hezbollah that largely ended with a November 2024 ceasefire.

They also include the Salah Ghandour hospital in south Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, which is run by the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee.

The hospital’s grounds and its surroundings were struck in 2024 during the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Earlier this month, the ministry condemned what it called threats against south Lebanon hospitals after reports that the IDF had dropped leaflets warning residents that Hezbollah operatives were using a hospital in Bint Jbeil.