Lebanon’s emergency workers pay a deadly price amid Israeli bombing

With the escalating attacks on emergency services, as well as the buildings housing the displaced, and crowded neighbourhoods in Beirut, many now see parallels between Israel’s onslaught in Lebanon and its year-long military campaign in Gaza.

Last week, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel was perpetrating “a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system”.

It accused Israel of “committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities”. Israel rejected the commission’s findings.

While the carnage in Lebanon is still far from what Palestinians in Gaza have endured, many here fear it is only the beginning.

Among the IHS staff and volunteers, there is a mix of pain and defiance as they struggle to do their jobs under fire.

“At night when we gather to eat, we look at each other, wondering who among us won’t be here tomorrow,” Mr Assaf says.

I ask if he thinks they might have to suspend their operations in case the Israelis keep hitting them.

“They will definitely keep hitting us. We will definitely never stop.”

Mr Freidi, who runs the IHS medical centres, insists they “won’t leave the people”.

“These are our people who were forced to leave their land. We will serve them till our last breath.”

Ms Hammoud, the teacher and IHS volunteer, echoes these sentiments.

“It’s very hard, the targeting of these people who are helping others. These people should not be targeted.”

“What God decrees will happen,” she says with a smile.

“If God grants us martyrdom, then praise be to God. We will die as martyrs of the Civil Defence of the Islamic Health Society.”