Young Lebanese girl left fighting for life after Israeli strikes

In the hills of the Bekaa Valley – as in swathes of Lebanon – death can come from the sky these days, at any moment.

Israel has been bombing the area through the day, with more 30 air strikes in just an hour.

Forty-six people are confirmed dead – and that toll is expected to rise.

Others are in critical condition in hospital, after Israeli attacks earlier this week.

Noor Mossawi is among them. The six-year-old is lying unconscious in a paediatric intensive care unit, in Rayak Hospital, with bandages wrapped around her fractured skull.

Her mother Rima is sitting by her bedside, holding a copy of the Quran and praying.

She tells us her daughter is very bright and very sociable.

“She creates such a fun atmosphere at home. The house feels empty when she’s not around. She loves meeting new people.”

All that changed last Monday, with an Israeli strike.

She shows us another video of her daughter – this time praying, shortly before the attack.

“I was soothing her, telling her not to be afraid, that nothing would happen. She was calling on God and the prophets for help,” Rima says.

As the bombing was getting closer, Rima was hunkering by her front door with Noor and her twin brother Mohammed.

“We weren’t brave enough to go inside,” she says, “because we thought the building would collapse on us if it was hit.

“When it got more intense, I picked up Noor and her brother and was about to take them in, but the missile was much faster than I was.”

That missile left Mohammed lightly wounded, and Noor fighting for her life.