Hospitals overwhelmed and communities destroyed: Lebanon reels from Israel’s unprecedented attacks
By Nada Bashir, Muhammad Darwish and Charbel Mallo, CNN
Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) — At the doors of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the human cost of Israel’s weeks-long assault on Lebanon was etched onto the faces of desperate families waiting for news of their loved ones. Ambulance doors were opened right at the entryway in an attempt to shield the scene. Body bags, one after another, were swiftly carried inside.
“There are many martyrs. Unfortunately, a number of them are still waiting to be identified,” the hospital’s director, Mohammad Zaatari, told CNN. Despite being the largest public hospital in Lebanon, and operating at full capacity, the facility falls within an Israeli-ordered evacuation zone – meaning it too could become a target. With hundreds of patients, including those in intensive care, evacuation is not an option.
Outside the hospital’s doors, Mohamed Jirani was pacing. His uncle had been admitted after an apartment building was hit by an Israeli airstrike on April 8.
“They’re not hitting fighters. Most of the injured were women and children, or displaced people,” he told CNN. “Why are they targeting civilians when we don’t have weapons? Go to any hospital in Beirut and try to find me one Hezbollah fighter. They’re all civilians.”
These were the scenes in Beirut last week after the Lebanese capital came under an unprecedentedly heavy Israeli attack just hours into a ceasefire in the war between the United States, Israel and Iran. Now, with the announcement of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, the country has been granted a moment of reprieve – though the impact of the devastation will take time to recover from.
The Israeli government says it is targeting fighters and infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant and political group, Hezbollah, which has engaged in decades of conflict with Israel. The aim, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is to secure his country’s northern border region. But across Lebanon, civilians are bearing the brunt of the conflict that flared up again when Hezbollah began firing at Israel at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The Lebanese government, which includes political representatives from Hezbollah, has also moved to put pressure on the group, outlawing its paramilitary wing and ordering the country’s security forces to rid the capital, Beirut, of all non-state arms. Hezbollah officials, however, argue that it, rather than a weak national military, is the only force capable of defending Lebanon against Israeli attacks and a potential occupation in the south.
Southern Lebanon – where Hezbollah has traditionally had a stronghold – has faced near-constant bombardment and ground assaults for over two years. Now, this latest war has extended its reach far beyond the front lines. Across Lebanon, towns and cities once thought to be safe, including the capital, have been gripped by an unpredictable wave of deadly attacks by the Israeli military.
The Lebanese Health Ministry says more than 2,000 people have been killed – including at least 172 children and 91 healthcare workers – and 7,000 wounded in the space of just six weeks. Israel’s airstrikes have killed and wounded civilians in their homes, at work, and even while sheltering at makeshift displacement camps.
Just over a week ago, the Israeli military launched its largest coordinated attack on Lebanon since the beginning of this latest war, striking what it described as 100 Hezbollah targets in just 10 minutes. Israel’s assaults typically come with some warning – the ominous buzz of low-flying drones, and an evacuation order shared on social media by the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesman. This one, however, came without notice. Contacted for comment by CNN, the IDF said that it “follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.” A military source also said that prior warning was not required if this would compromise the operation.
Bustling neighborhoods of central Beirut, previously not thought to be in the firing line, were struck within seconds of each other. Residential buildings, shops and local businesses were destroyed in an instant, leaving victims buried beneath rubble and twisted metal and survivors clinging to the blackened remains of their apartments.
Hospitals prepare for more casualties
Hospitals are in crisis mode across Lebanon after the attacks. CNN visited Beirut’s Makassed General Hospital, where a three-year-old girl was recovering from severe injuries to her left hand. Her mother said her daughter had stepped outside to play when the education center in which they had been sheltering was struck.
“I ran out shouting ‘my daughter, my daughter.’ I couldn’t see anything, just black everywhere. I could hear her saying ‘mama, mama,’ she was calling for me,” the woman told CNN. “I was digging through the debris with my hands. I was trying to see, but I couldn’t. And then I saw her face, her head. I pulled her out myself and carried her. I was in shock.”
In her three years, her daughter has already lived through two wars between Israel and Lebanon. When she goes to sleep, her mother said, she covers her ears to block out the sound of nearby strikes.
“Why should my child have to live like this? She holds onto me and grips my veil out of fear. What have our children done to deserve this?”
Hospital officials here said they were preparing for more casualties, but warn they could quickly run out of supplies if faced with further mass attacks. The World Health Organization has also warned that essential medical supplies at some hospitals in Lebanon are near depletion.
“If the war continues, physically we are here, we are prepared,” said Joumana Najjar, general manager at Makassed Hospital. “Our physicians are ready, our staff are ready. But we have limited capacity in terms of supplies, in terms of medication. I don’t know how long the war will last and how long we can sustain such a war.”
“We always have to be concerned with Israel, we don’t know what they will do next. We saw what they did in Gaza.”
‘Situation is bleak’
With forced evacuation orders in place south of the Litani river, the Israeli military has progressively deepened its ground offensive and intensified its aerial assaults, leaving entire villages in the region completely destroyed.
Since March 2, the Israeli military has also doubled down on its campaign of destroying vital bridges connecting southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, leaving the region increasingly isolated. More than 1 million people in the country – around 20% of its entire population – have been displaced.
Many of these families are now sheltering in displacement camps in and around Beirut, hosted in schools, stadiums and community spaces. Others, however, are still on the street, with hundreds of tents lining the city’s upscale waterfront.
“Our situation is very bleak. We left without even our clothes; we couldn’t bring anything with us. They told us to shelter here, and we’ve been here in these tents ever since,” 85-year-old Abu Mohamed said. “We lost our home. If we were to return, we’d have to take our tent with us. There’s nothing left.”
During his lifetime, Abu Mohamed has seen several wars with Israel, and even an Israeli occupation. Now, he said, he will stand with anyone defending the country from Israeli forces.
“We can withstand all of this, so long as the resistance stays standing. The rest is not important, whether we have food, drink, anything. All that matters is our men out on the border, they are the ones protecting us. They are defending our land, defending our country, our dignity.”
During a visit to one displacement camp in Beirut, Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs Hanin Sayyed told CNN that “even one person on the street is not acceptable” to the Lebanese government. Alternative shelters are said to have been provided to those in makeshift camps, but many displaced people, according to Sayyed, have refused relocation.
“The problem is that many of them do not want to go. They want to go home, and that’s understandable. They still have hope that tomorrow, they will be able to return to their homes in Dahiyeh or in the south. It’s hard for me to tell them that I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
And while the number of internally displaced people in Lebanon is continuing to grow as evacuation orders expand, there are still many in the south who are choosing to stay.
In the ancient coastal city of Tyre, the roads were eerily quiet when CNN visited. For the residents who have remained, the low roar of Israeli fighter jets overhead and smoke rising in the distance are a constant reminder that their city is now a front line. Residential buildings have been repeatedly struck, and evacuation orders have even been extended into the sea, leaving fishermen unable to earn a living.
Marwan Al-Jouni was born and raised in Tyre. His Christian neighborhood has largely been spared the worst of Israel’s attacks – with Hezbollah holding a stronger footing in the city’s Muslim areas – but he said his community stands alongside its Shia Muslim neighbors.
“We stand hand in hand and support each other. We stand side by side so that we do not feel afraid,” Al-Jouni said. “During these hard times, we won’t abandon our land. We will remain steadfast, even through all the pressure and all the hardships we are facing, we will stay standing here.”
Rayhana Zaiter contributed reporting.
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