Sidon Hospital, opened to give aid during 2006 Israeli invasion, again fulfills this role due to similar incursions, showing Turkish-Lebanese solidarity, says Turkish envoy
The Turkish state aid agency on Thursday announced the donation of an ambulance to a Lebanese hospital.
In a ceremony at the Sidon Turkish Trauma and Rehabilitation Hospital, Lebanese Health Minister Firas al-Abyad expressed his gratitude to Türkiye for providing aid, especially medical supplies, during recent Israeli attacks and thanked the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) for donating an ambulance and its continued support.
Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Murat Lutem, visiting the coastal city for the first time, said: “The Sidon Turkish Trauma and Rehabilitation Hospital, opened to give aid in the humanitarian crisis caused by the 2006 Israeli invasion, is once again fulfilling this role due to similar incursions, standing as a manifestation of solidarity between Türkiye and Lebanon.”
Inspecting the hospital after the ceremony, he said it provides “exemplary” service and added: “I can say with pride that the hospital operates with an infrastructure as advanced as the hospitals in our country, providing critical services in times of crisis to the Lebanese people.”
Mentioning how earlier this month Israeli aggression killed three Turkish citizens at the Lebanese-Israeli border, Lutem said the killings also drew condemnation from Lebanon.
- Turkish hospital working to step up care
The Turkish Trauma and Rehabilitation Hospital, which was built and equipped in the city of Sidon, 44 kilometers (27.3 miles) south of the capital Beirut, includes a treatment block where emergency services, intensive care units, operating rooms and technical units are planned, as well as a patient care block with planned administration and patient bed units.
The hospital reopened last November after Israeli attacks and continues to work to provide services at full capacity.
