War with Hezbollah could cause frequent, extended power outages across most of Israel, Health Ministry report warns

Should a full-scale war break out between Israel and Hezbollah along the country’s northern borders, Israel’s health system could collapse and extended power outages could become the norm, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Citing a report it obtained after it was presented to the relevant authorities by Health Minister Uriel Busso and Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, Kan reports that a war with Lebanon’s Iran-backed terror group could result in frequent power outages across 60 percent of Israel, each one lasting two hours, multiple times a day.

As a result, Israel’s health system could be placed under immense strain, as ventilators and respiratory support systems would no longer be able to rely on the current energy infrastructure and will instead require a huge number of generators, the report warns.

As a result, Kan reports, the Health Ministry is seeking to establish energy and oxygen centers across the country, each of which could provide enough electricity for 50 rechargeable ventilators and other medical equipment that would be used on a rolling basis, removing the burden from the hospitals themselves.

“The goal of this is to prevent the health system from collapsing while it is already under heavy strain,” the report cites Siman-Tov as saying.