In a corner of southern Lebanon, where medicine meets humanitarian need, a small hospital is testing a bold idea: what if artificial intelligence could help doctors reclaim time, focus, and hope?
A World First in a Refugee Health System
At Al Hamshari Hospital, operated by the Palestine Red Crescent Society near the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, a groundbreaking pilot has begun.
UK-Qatar health-tech startup Rhazes AI has launched an AI-powered clinical scribe to reduce the crushing paperwork burden on overstretched physicians.
This marks the first structured use of AI assistance in a conflict-affected healthcare system, offering a glimpse of how digital tools might strengthen humanitarian medicine.
Medicine Under Pressure
With just 80 beds, 56 doctors, and 31 nurses, Al Hamshari Hospital treats over 4,000 patients per month and performs 400+ surgeries during crises.
It remains the only dialysis provider for Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon.
Because Palestinian refugees are excluded from Lebanon’s national health system, hospitals like Al Hamshari shoulder full-spectrum care — primary, emergency, and specialty — often without referral pathways.
Doctors, mostly Palestinians themselves, routinely handle 60+ patients daily across multiple disciplines.
“The exhaustion isn’t just physical,” one clinician shared. “It’s knowing you’re the only safety net.”
Technology That Adapts to Reality
Rhazes AI’s clinical assistant records consultations in real time, supports diagnostic reasoning, and drafts evidence-based management plans — all while running on minimal infrastructure.
It generates admission notes, discharge summaries, and billing codes, allowing clinicians to refocus on what matters most: their patients.
“Technology shouldn’t wait for perfect conditions,” says Dr. Zaid Al-Fagih, co-founder and CEO of Rhazes AI.
“It should start where the need is greatest.”
Evidence Meets Empathy
Earlier trials published in the Emergency Medical Journal showed that the system cuts documentation time by over 60 percent.
The ongoing pilot in Lebanon (Aug–Nov 2025) measures documentation efficiency, decision confidence, and patient flow — metrics critical in high-pressure environments.
Rola Soboh, a Rhazes AI implementation lead, reflects:
“Doctors here don’t just treat patients — they carry communities. When you ease their load, you lift emotional and physical weight alike.”
A Template for Future Humanitarian Medicine
If successful, the project could inspire AI adoption across low-resource and conflict settings worldwide — blending innovation with empathy in the service of medicine.
In an era when AI is often portrayed as replacing humans, Al Hamshari’s story tells another truth: that technology can stand beside the healer, not above them.