The Ministry of Public Health strongly condemned and denounced in a statement "the described barbaric crime committed by the Israeli enemy by burning the Mays al-Jabal Governmental Hospital, in a blatant, brutal, and scandalous attack." It said: "This governmental hospital facility, which the ministry was keen to restore and rehabilitate following the first war and equip with the latest medical equipment and devices to be a lifeline and a safe haven to serve our displaced and steadfast people in the border areas, is being subjected today to systematic destruction that expresses moral bankruptcy and ingrained criminality. The occupation was not content with stationing itself in it previously and turning it into a military barracks, but has now proceeded to burn it completely to deprive the people of the South of their minimum human rights to hospitalization and health care." The ministry affirmed that "targeting medical institutions and health cadres constitutes a full-fledged war crime and a flagrant violation of international agreements," and demanded that "the international community, the World Health Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross immediately break their suspicious silence and hold the occupation accountable for its repeated crimes against the Lebanese health sector." It also stressed that "these criminal acts will not break the will to remain steadfast, and the ministry will continue to perform its national and humanitarian duty and support our people in the South with all available capabilities, no matter the sacrifices."