- ‘A small piece of shrapnel can be enough to end a child’s life or cause a permanent disability,’ Dr. Abbas Atieh says
Jabal Amel Hospital in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre continues to operate under the pressure of ongoing Israeli strikes, receiving wounded people daily despite damage to the building and repeated attacks near the facility.
As one of the largest medical centers in the area, the hospital treats scores of wounded people each day while doctors and nurses move through its corridors exhausted, working under mounting pressure as the bombardment continues.
Medical teams face growing challenges, including attacks on ambulance crews during rescue missions, in a scene that reflects the worsening humanitarian crisis in southern Lebanon.
The smell of smoke and medical supplies fills the hospital, while ambulance sirens and the sound of explosions have become part of daily life in the area after weeks of escalation.
Emergency departments in the damaged building continue to operate at full capacity as staff try to keep up with the steady flow of casualties arriving from towns under heavy bombardment.
Constant alert
In the reception area, hospital director Dr. Wael Marwa inspected the damage left by the bombing as shards of glass remained scattered near shattered windows.
Marwa told Anadolu that an Israeli strike hit about 70 meters from the hospital, shattering glass facades, damaging solar panels and causing ceilings to collapse in some departments.
“Fortunately, no injuries were recorded inside the hospital, but the scale of the damage is significant, and strikes near hospitals have become frequent,” he said.
Marwa said several hospitals in Tyre sustained similar damage, including Hiram Hospital. He said continued attacks near health facilities threaten medical teams’ ability to keep working.
“We are doing purely humanitarian work and trying to continue despite all the circumstances, but the health sector is under enormous pressure,” he added.
Marwa called on the international community to intervene to protect hospitals and medical teams from Israeli attacks.
Rescuers under attack
In the emergency department, a new group of wounded people arrived, including ambulance workers who were targeted during a rescue mission in the town of Tayr Debba, south of Tyre.
Paramedic Mohammed Hammoud sat on an ambulance stretcher, catching his breath after he and his team suffered smoke inhalation. Exhaustion and dust were visible on his face and clothes.
Hammoud told Anadolu that his team had gone to rescue a family hit by an Israeli strike, but the crew came under attack as soon as it arrived.
“We moved normally after a civilian family’s home was targeted, but when we arrived, we were hit by a second strike,” he said.
Hammoud said the four-member ambulance crew continued evacuating the wounded despite the danger before coming under a third attack while pulling casualties from the area.
“God protected us. We suffered from smoke inhalation, but we completed our mission because there were civilians who needed help,” he said.
Daily strain
In the narrow hallways leading to treatment rooms, medical staff continue to work under growing pressure and with little rest as casualties keep arriving from different areas of the Tyre district.
Ali Saleh, a nurse in charge of the emergency department, said the hospital receives casualties every day, including people with severe wounds, amputations and shrapnel injuries.
He said some patients require long-term follow-up care inside the hospital, adding to the strain on medical teams as the escalation continues.
In the emergency room, where medical machines beep and nurses call out instructions, department director Dr. Abbas Atieh described the hardest moments doctors face in their work.
Atieh said injuries to children remain the most painful and emotionally difficult for medical teams.
“A small piece of shrapnel can be enough to end a child’s life or cause a permanent disability,” he said.
“We see cases of severe burns, children with amputated limbs or children suffering brain hemorrhages, and these are among the scenes that leave the deepest psychological impact on the medical team,” he added.
Israeli attacks across Lebanon continue despite a US-mediated ceasefire that was announced on April 17 and later extended until the beginning of July.
Since March 2, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 3,020 people, injured 9,273 others and displaced more than 1.6 million, about one-fifth of the country’s population, according to Lebanese officials.
*Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul
