Khaberni - Workers in the health sector in South Lebanon continue to provide life-saving care 46 days after the bombing, despite the targeting of first responders, hospital surroundings, and casualties among them, coinciding with a fragile ten-day ceasefire.
The World Health Organization reported 147 near-daily attacks on health care facilities since March 2nd, resulting in the death of more than 100 health workers and injuring 233 others, in addition to the closure of six hospitals and damage to many medical facilities.
In South Lebanon, health personnel worked around the clock to receive large numbers of injured and deceased arriving with severe injuries, including severe bleeding, amputations, and complex wounds, including children.
According to Doctors Without Borders, Tanya Hashem, the medical program director at Doctors Without Borders, said that staff at Nabatieh hospitals spent 46 days sleeping inside the hospitals, and some were unable to see their families, while others stayed with their families inside the hospital.
In Nabatieh, thousands of residents evacuated following intensive shelling and evacuation orders, but many families chose to stay, while health sector workers continued their duties to ensure the continuity of services. In Nabatieh Governmental Hospital, about 42 families of medical staff with their children sheltered inside the hospital, while medical teams in Popular Aid Hospital continued responding to mass casualty incidents despite the dangers of movement and the difficulty of securing essential supplies.
Director of Popular Aid Hospital, Dr. Mona Abu Zaid said that the staff's staying inside the hospital was part of the emergency plan, adding that the injured arrived with horrific injuries, excessive bleeding, and life-threatening wounds, while some children arrived after losing their parents.
In a painful incident, Dr. Ahmed Zreiq received the body of his paramedic colleague just hours after speaking with him the same morning, saying they had spent the morning together before the paramedic left to respond to an emergency case, only to suffer a severe injury and was martyred as a result, and added: “Everything seemed normal, then suddenly changed, he left and did not return, and was brought back body without soul.”
Hospitals supported by Doctors Without Borders in Tyre and Nabatieh suffered damage due to nearby raids, where workers in Hiram Hospital were injured by shattered glass, and medical equipment in the Lebanese Italian Hospital was damaged, including dialysis machines, while the medical team in Jabal Amel Hospital had to remove glass and reinforce the windows after nearby explosions.
With the ongoing fragility of the ceasefire, health sector workers are trying to catch their breath and prepare for a possible escalation, while Doctors Without Borders continues to support several hospitals, including Rafik Hariri Hospital and Baalbek Governmental Hospital, through donations and enhancing emergency services and severe injury care.
