Beijing will provide emergency medical supplies to Lebanon, China's official foreign aid agency said on Tuesday, as the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah exacerbates the humanitarian crisis.

Li Ming, spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said in a statement the aid would help Lebanon carry out medical assistance and was at the request of the country's government.

The statement said explosions and air strikes had "occurred in many places in Lebanon, causing a large number of casualties" as the fighting escalated recently.

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A year after the Hamas attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, the Israel-Hamas conflict has expanded to several countries in the Middle East.

Hezbollah has been launching air strikes against Israel since October last year to show solidarity with Hamas. The exchange of strikes between the two sides has ratcheted up more recently.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had killed Suhail Hussein Husseini, the logistics commander of Hezbollah's Beirut Headquarters. Hezbollah has yet to comment, but if his death is verified it would add to the series of targeted killings by Israel of top figures from Hezbollah and Hamas.

The Israel Defence Forces said Husseini had played "a crucial role in weapon transfers between Iran and Hezbollah and was responsible for distributing the advanced weaponry among Hezbollah's units" in a "precise, intelligence-based strike" in a part of Beirut.

Last week, Iran launched its biggest attacks on Israel, firing around 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli targets.

Hezbollah initiated strikes on Haifa in northern Israel on Monday, leading Israel to contemplate broader military action in Lebanon.

Also on Monday, Israel's military continued its offensive on two fronts, launching a heavy bombardment in southern Lebanon and conducting a retaliatory strike against Hamas in southern Gaza. The IDF said an estimated 190 projectiles had been fired at Israel from Hezbollah forces in Lebanon on Monday.

The fighting has intensified the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, with its public health ministry saying that conflict-related deaths have increased by more than 200 per cent to 1,699 between September 23 and October 3.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said more than 77 on-duty health workers had been killed in Lebanon since the conflict began in October last year, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said at least 96 primary healthcare centres and dispensaries, along with three hospitals, had been forced to shut down in Lebanon.

Last week, the Chinese government organised two rounds of evacuations for Chinese citizens living in Lebanon, allowing more than 200 Chinese and 10 foreign family members to leave Lebanon, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Late last month, Beijing issued a travel warning for Lebanon, urging citizens to avoid travelling to the country, and for those already in the area to evacuate or move to a safer region as soon as possible.

Describing the security situation in Lebanon "currently severe", the Chinese embassy in Lebanon said Chinese citizens should closely watch local developments.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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