Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's health minister said Thursday that more than 40 paramedics and firefighters had been killed by Israeli fire in three days, among 97 killed since Hezbollah and Israel began fighting last October.

Firass Abiad told reporters that in three days, 40 people "among those working in ambulances and fire trucks" were killed.

He said 97 "paramedics and firefighters" had been killed and 188 wounded since fighting began.

The toll includes emergency personnel from organizations affiliated with Hezbollah or other Lebanese factions.

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Since the clashes began, 1,974 people have been killed by Israeli fire, 127 of them children, he said. More than 9,350 people have been wounded.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that "in Lebanon alone, 28 health workers have been killed in the last 24 hours".

"We had planned to deliver a large shipment of trauma and medical supplies tomorrow [Friday] to Lebanon. Unfortunately, this has not been possible due to the almost complete closure of Beirut's airport," he said.

After nearly a year of low-intensity cross-border exchanges, Israel has shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has forced hundreds of thousands to flee.

This week, Israel announced that its troops had started ground raids into parts of south Lebanon, a stronghold of Hezbollah.