Israeli Strike Kills Lebanese Paramedic in Lebanon Conflict

Hasan Badawi, a 31-year-old paramedic and father of one with a baby on the way, died earlier in April 2026 while heading to a military strike site in southern Lebanon, allegedly struck by an Israeli drone. Badawi volunteered with the Lebanese Red Cross.

His team wore bright-red jumpsuits with the organization's insignia, including a large cross on the back and shoulders, and traveled in a clearly marked ambulance.

The strike occurred on April 12, 2026, as Israeli forces advanced toward Bint Jbeil, a key Hezbollah stronghold. The Lebanese Red Cross stated that the team was directly targeted during the mission near Bint Jbeil, with one colleague wounded. The organization had coordinated safe passage for the operation.

The Israeli military reported targeting a Hezbollah member in the April 12, 2026, strike near Bint Jbeil. It acknowledged reports of a Red Cross team being affected and said the incident was under review. The Israeli military said in a statement on April 14 that it was aware of reports that a Red Cross team had been “affected” by a strike launched on April 12 targeting a Hezbollah member who was “in proximity” to its troops in the area of Bint Jbeil.

The Israel Defense Forces has said the incident was still under review and repeated that statement when asked whether they had been aware that a Red Cross team would be operating in the area around the time of the strike.

Three days later, on April 15, 2026, back-to-back strikes in the Mayfadoun area of the Nabatieh district killed four paramedics. The paramedics were responding to an Israeli raid when the first strike killed two. Teams from the Risala Scout Association and the Nabatieh Ambulance Service arrived, and Israeli forces launched two more attacks, killing two additional first responders.

The Israeli military stated it was aware of reports that several paramedics were injured in the Mayfadoun strike on April 15, 2026, and that the incident was under review. Hajj Mahmoud, spokesperson for the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Association, described the sequence of events. The Islamic Health Association and the Nabatieh Ambulance Service reported the deaths.

These incidents follow Israel's invasion of Lebanon more than six weeks before April 27, 2026. At least 95 emergency medical services workers and volunteers, mainly paramedics, have been killed since Israeli forces launched a ground and aerial assault in Lebanon, with scores more injured, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 100 health workers have died since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, setting off a wider war across the Middle East.

In Israel, 23 people have died from Hezbollah strikes launched soon after the war began. Officials announced on April 16 that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, which was extended on Thursday, the Israeli military continues to operate in far southern Lebanon to establish a buffer zone.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies stated that the growing toll on humanitarians, including first responders with the IFRC, around the world was undeniable. 'It is a matter of numbers,' said Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for the federation, noting that the number of humanitarian workers killed had 'skyrocketed' in recent years.

Della Longa added that paramedics are considered health workers and often counted as humanitarians, particularly volunteers with organizations like the IFRC. In 2025, at least 326 aid workers died in 21 countries, according to Tom Fletcher, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

Over the three-year period ending in 2025, more than 1,010 humanitarians were killed.

More than 560 died in the Gaza Strip and the Israel-occupied West Bank during Israeli operations. At least 130 humanitarians were killed in Sudan, 60 in South Sudan, 25 in Ukraine, and 25 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during that period, Fletcher reported.

From October 2001 to April 2021, an estimated 444 humanitarian workers were killed during the war in Afghanistan, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project.

Hundreds of health personnel died during Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, aid groups reported. Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Jordan, and other nations issued a joint statement warning that attacks on aid workers must stop and calling for international law to be upheld.

'It’s not about paramedics doing what they have to do to be recognizable or protected under international law,' said Aseel Baidoun, deputy director of advocacy and campaigns at Medical Aid for Palestinians.

'It’s about facing an army that does not recognize international law or any protected persons under international law,' Baidoun said in a phone interview. Israel has a history of targeting healthcare and rescue workers, using the thin pretext of some enemy military presence, as part of its efforts to make broad swathes of territory unlivable — first Gaza, now southern Lebanon — to drive out the civilian population, according to Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch.

The IDF stated it operates according to international law, does not target civilians, and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate harm to civilian infrastructure.

The IDF also stated that Hezbollah systematically embeds military infrastructure and assets within civilian population centers and uses civilians as human shields. Hezbollah systematically uses ambulances and civilian infrastructure for terrorist purposes, according to the IDF.

Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as command and control centers and ambulances to disguise its activities, which Hamas denies.

@NBCNews reported these details, including the events, statements, and data from various sources.