Lebanese emergency workers say they are under ‘specific attack’ by Israelis – but won’t be intimidated to leave
Multiple ambulances destroyed, stations hit, Civil Defence crews killed… emergency workers in Lebanon say they’re suffering a sustained attack on them by Israeli forces.
“We are definitely coming under specific attack,” Sayyed Abdullah, head of Civil Defence in the south, told a group of mainly foreign media.
“We have had 40 ambulances which have been completely destroyed,” he said, adding: “On top of that 24 rescuing stations have been hit – just in this area.
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“They were all targeted directly and I’m just speaking about our organisation.”
A number of his colleagues, young and old, echoed that belief.
One Civil Defence worker who’s been part of the emergency crew for 20 years told us how earlier in the day, a team of his colleagues had raced to a bomb site to help the injured.
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Beirut rescue workers feel ‘targeted’ by strikes
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Massive explosions rock Beirut
“The first team went to rescue them and they were hit. Another team went to rescue them, they were also hit,” he said.
“At the end the Red Cross went to rescue them and they too were attacked.”
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His 20-year-old young co-worker Yasser told us he would not be intimidated into leaving: “We will not leave. If we leave, who will look after the people?”
Several Civil Defence crews have been killed – seven in one hit in Beirut. Their colleagues and friends need no more convincing their lives are at risk.
One Civil Defence worker said two separate emergency crews and the Red Cross were hit trying to help at one bomb site
The airstrikes and casualties are on a daily basis in this area of southern Lebanon.
The thud of bombs landing are a regular frightening noise here now. But with doctors and nurses too feeling they are being targeted, it seems it’s becoming more and more risky to be an emergency worker in Lebanon.
20-year-old Yasser said he would not be intimidated into leaving
“There are international laws protecting doctors all over the world,” Dr Hussam Telleih, one young doctor told us, adding: “But not in Lebanon.
“There are no Hezbollah weapons in this hospital. You can see for yourself. You’ve been all over the hospital. We completely deny this.”
“They are trying to do here what they did in Gaza. They said the same about al Shifa hospital in Gaza, calling it a Hamas control centre. We feel we are next.”
As we are at the latest bomb site where the Civil Defence teams are working, an alarm goes up and we’re told to evacuate.
The crews are nervous. There’s a group of them in one place to talk to the assembled media and they’re worried that this number of vehicles all together might draw the attention of the ‘eyes in the skies’ – the Israeli drones which also constantly circle above.
We reached out to the Israeli Defence Forces media office for comment on these accusations, but we received no reply.
When we move to another site in Tyre city, a young man is hobbling on a crutch near another crushed building.
He tells us about what appears to be a miraculous escape from death. An airstrike has caused two buildings to collapse, killing a family of five. Three women, including a teenager, a grandfather and a two-year-old baby have died.
The young man was in the neighbouring house but tells us he was trapped for several hours before rescue workers pulled him out of the rubble barely conscious.
“It’s lies,” he says, referring to the Israeli claim that every house hit contains Hezbollah weapons, a fighter or commander. “This is all lies. We are civilians and my uncle was killed and he wasn’t doing anything.”
We see, far off in the distance, dozens of volleys of rockets being fired off one after another.
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We’ve stopped to try to find a mechanic who can help repair our vehicle’s punctured tyre, and a small group has gathered to watch the rockets shooting off. There are appreciative noises and a frisson of excitement among the group as the blasts arc across the skyline.
But the far more constant thunderous drum is the crashing thud and boom of Israeli missiles landing.
And that doesn’t seem likely to ease any time soon.
A Sky News documentary, Netanyahu, will air today 4 October at 9pm
Alex Crawford reports from Tyre in southern Lebanon with camera Jake Britton, specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Lebanon producers Jihad Jneid and Sami Zein.
World
US ‘destroying’ international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia ‘halfway’, Ukraine’s UK ambassador warns
The United States is “finally destroying” the international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia “halfway”, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK has warned.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Washington’s recent actions in relation to Moscow could lead to the collapse of NATO – with Europe becoming Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s next target.
“The failure to qualify actions of Russia as an aggression is a huge challenge for the entire world and Europe, in particular,” he told a conference at the Chatham House think tank.
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“We see that it is not just the axis of evil and Russia trying to revise the world order, but the US is finally destroying this order.”
Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Pic: Reuters
Mr Zaluzhnyi, who took over as Kyiv’s ambassador to London in 2024 following three years as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, also warned that the White House had “questioned the unity of the whole Western world” – suggesting NATO could cease to exist as a result.
It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy scrambles to repair relations with US President Donald Trump following a dramatic row between the two men in the Oval Office last week.
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Mr Trump signalled on Tuesday that tensions could be easing, telling Congress he had received a letter from Mr Zelenskyy saying he was ready to sign a peace deal “at any time”.
Zelenskyy and Trump during their extraordinary Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
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But on the same day, the US president ordered a sudden freeze on shipments of US military aid to Ukraine, and Washington has since paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv and halted cyber operations against Russia.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Mr Zaluzhnyi said the pause in cyber operations and an earlier decision by the US to oppose a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine were “a huge challenge for the entire world”.
He added that talks between the US and Russia – “headed by a war criminal” – showed the White House “makes steps towards the Kremlin, trying to meet them halfway”, warning Moscow’s next target “could be Europe”.
World
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh being forced to fight for same military accused of genocide against their people
Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is a sprawling mass of humanity.
It’s a sea of makeshift bamboo shelters, home to more than one million Rohingya refugees – a mainly Muslim minority from Rakhine state in Myanmar.
Some 700,000 fled their homeland back in 2017 – after the Myanmar military massacred thousands.
The army was accused of genocide by the United Nations.
The Rohingya refugees didn’t escape danger though.
Right now, violence is at its worst levels in the camps since 2017 and Rohingya people face a particularly cruel new threat – they’re being forced back to fight for the same Myanmar military accused of trying to wipe out their people.
A child at the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar
Militant groups are recruiting Rohingya men in the camps, some at gunpoint, and taking them back to Myanmar to fight for a force that’s losing ground.
Jaker is just 19.
We’ve changed his name to protect his identity.
He says he was abducted at gunpoint last year by a group of nine men in Cox’s.
They tied his hands with rope he says and took him to the border where he was taken by boat with three other men to fight for the Myanmar military.
“It was heartbreaking,” he told me. “They targeted poor children. The children of wealthy families only avoided it by paying money.”
And he says the impact has been deadly.
“Many of our Rohingya boys, who were taken by force from the camps, were killed in battle.”
Jaker speaks to Sky’s Cordelia Lynch
An aerial view of the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar
The situation in Cox’s is desperate.
People are disillusioned by poverty, violence and the plight of their own people and the civil war they ran from is getting worse.
In Rakhine, just across the border, there’s been a big shift in dynamics.
The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group has all but taken control of the state from the ruling military junta.
Both the military and the AA are accused of committing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.
And whilst some Rohingya claim they’re being forced into the fray – dragged back to Myanmar from Bangladesh, others are willing to go.
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Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar – where refugees arrive from Myanmar after crossing the Naf River
Some are so aggrieved with the AA, they’re willing to support their former persecutors.
Abu Zar is one of those willing to take up arms.
But not for the military or AA, he says.
Everyone praying in the mosque with him is prepared to go back to protect their own cause he says – not anyone else’s.
“We want to fight for our rights because we have been demanding justice for a long time. But the situation has become unbearable,” he tells me.
Abu Zar has said he is willing to take up arms for his own cause
It’s estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Rohingya have joined armed groups from this camp.
But the fight they are joining has become increasingly bloody.
In a cramped shelter, we meet Safura.
Safura came under fire as she fled Myanmar
Safura’s son Aman had his foot blown off
Five days ago she managed to get out of Myanmar but she had to be carried part of the way.
Her legs are riddled with bullet wounds and the pain is severe.
Her son, Aman, who lies on the floor next to her, has had his foot blown off.
They were injured she said, during an attack on her family home in the middle of the night.
“They entered our house and shot all my family members. My husband and mother-in-law were killed on the spot.”
The military denies forcing Rohingya to the battlefield. But the camps tell a different story- one of surging violence and vulnerability.
US President Donald Trump has told Gazans to hand over Israeli hostages or “you are dead”.
The threat, made over social media, came hours after the White House confirmed that US officials had broken with tradition to hold direct talks with Hamas.
The US has previously avoided direct contact with the group owing to Washington’s longstanding position not to negotiate with terrorists – with Hamas having been designated as a terrorist group in the US since 1997.
In a press conference on Wednesday, White House press secretary Ms Keavitt said there had been “ongoing talks and discussions” between the US officials and Hamas.
File pic: AP
But she would not be drawn on the substance of the talks – taking place in Doha, Qatar – between US officials and Hamas, but said Israel had been consulted.
Ms Leavitt continued: “Dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people, is something that the president has proven is what he believes is a good faith, effort to do what’s right for the American people.”
There are “American lives at stake,” she added.
Adam Boehler, Mr Trump’s pick to be special envoy for hostage affairs, participated in the direct talks with Hamas.
A spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had “expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas”.
Hours later, Mr Trump warned Hamas to hand over Israeli hostages or “it’s over for you” – adding: “This is your last warning”.
Hamas militants on the day of a hostage handover in Gaza in February. Pic: Reuters
On his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump wrote: “Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered or it is over for you.
“Only sick and twisted people keep bodies and you are sick and twisted. I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.”
Mr Trump met with freed Israeli hostages on Wednesday, something he referenced in his social media post, before adding: “This is your last warning. For the leadership of Hamas, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance.
“Also, to the people of Gaza, a beautiful future awaits, but not if you hold hostages. If you do, you are dead. Make a smart decision. Release the hostages now, or there will be hell to pay later.”
Israel estimates about 24 living hostages, including American citizen Edan Alexander, and the bodies of at least 35 others, are still believed to be in Gaza.
Donald Trump with Benjamin Netanyahu in February. Pic: Reuters
The US has a long-held policy of not negotiating with terrorists – which it is breaking with these talks as Hamas has been designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the US government’s National Counterterrorism Center since 1997.
The discussions come as a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire continues to hold, but its future is uncertain.
Palestinians amid the rubble in the southern Gaza strip. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump has signalled he has no intention of pushing the Israeli prime minister away from a return to combat if Hamas does not agree to terms of a new ceasefire proposal – which, Israel says, has been drafted by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages – the group’s main bargaining chip – in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.
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Israel has made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners, a key component of the first phase.
Fighting in Gaza has been halted since 19 January.
Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli and five Thai hostages for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
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