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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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“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.