in Lebanon, rescue teams believe they are deliberately targeted by the Israeli army

A civil defense rescue team was the victim of an Israeli strike on Wednesday evening in the southern region of Tyre. The death toll is five. Two firefighters also died Thursday afternoon in Beirut.

First aid teams on the front line. In his office at the Lebanese Civil Defense Directorate, Nabil Salhani still finds it hard to believe what happened. On the evening of Wednesday, October 9, an Israeli air strike fell on a relief center in the village of Derdghaiya, near the city of Tyre, in the south of the country, killing five people. Photos of the building show the building pulverized. “The building is in pieces, in debris, with the small fire truck. It was their building that collapsed. It’s a direct target, it’s not by mistake.”

“When you see that all your colleagues – friends we’ve known for years and years – are being targeted… Their only fault is that they want to continue to give help to citizens who are in their region.”

Nabil Salhani, Directorate of Lebanese Civil Defense

at franceinfo

Windows blown out, doors broken… The barracks of Ghassan Zheim, responsible for operations in the southern suburbs of Beirut, were damaged by a strike that fell right next to it. The population is terrified. “What pains us is that before, citizens trusted us to ensure their security. But now, they are afraid of us, because we have become targets”explains Ghassan Zheim.

We must then adapt and avoid, for example, sending too large teams to the same place. “To avoid too many injuries, after each strike, I go there with one of my colleagues on a motorbikeexplains the head of operations in the southern suburbs of Beirut. It’s easier to assess the situation and see what the needs are: firefighters, rescue teams. And see if there are any victims, any injured.”

What strikes him most are these children’s bodies, sometimes unrecognizable. “We must continuesays Ghassan Zheim, at all costs to provide assistance to families.” Since the start of hostilities, the Lebanese civil defense has lost at least thirteen of its rescuers across the country. A toll that continues to increase hour by hour.