British Broadcasting CompanyMohammed Sukayneh clutched a number of plastic luggage as he trudged by way of rubble and twisted steel – all he may discover from his residence of 45 years.
An Israeli airstrike hit him and his household final night time, killing 18 individuals, 4 of them kids, in accordance with the Lebanese Well being Ministry.
The assault occurred with out warning in a spot thought-about protected – about 150 meters from the doorway to Rafik Hariri Hospital in southern Beirut, Lebanon’s largest public hospital.
Muhammad and his household have been sleeping in mattress.
“We did not notice what was occurring,” he mentioned.
“After the strike, we heard one thing like ‘increase, increase, increase, increase’. Every part is thrown at us. Stone, steel, metal, recent blood, recent flesh are all inside us. You’ll be able to’t discuss, you’ll be able to’t breathe, you’ll be able to’t get oxygen.
He listed the names of 5 neighbors nonetheless beneath the rubble of their properties. Others have been killed in moments in their very own neighborhoods – together with two 19-year-old ladies sitting outdoors his door.
Mohammed, 54, survived with a graze on his arm, however his 20-year-old nephew is now in intensive care. “Half his mind was crushed,” he mentioned.
A civil safety employee on the scene instructed us six residential buildings have been knocked down, most of them three or 4 tales excessive.
A veiled girl sat on the bottom, holding her head in her arms and rocking backwards and forwards in ache. “There isn’t a Hezbollah right here,” she mentioned. “We’re all civilians.”
“Everybody was flying within the air,” one neighbor mentioned.
Minutes later, extra our bodies have been recovered from the rubble and carried away in black physique luggage.
I requested Mohammed what he thought Israel may be focusing on on this densely populated space.
“They hit every thing they needed,” he replied, his voice thickening with anger.
“There are kids out of sight. The place are the weapons right here? The place are the rockets right here? Blind enemies of Israel. Blind.
The Israel Protection Forces (IDF) mentioned it struck “Hezbollah terrorist targets close to the hospital” however didn’t present any data on what the targets have been.
Jihad Saad, director of Rafik Hariri Hospital, mentioned the hospital was hit by shrapnel however was working usually and wouldn’t be evacuated.
This was not the case at Al Sahel Personal Hospital, some 2 kilometers away, which was abandoned final night time.
“We frantically evacuated instantly,” mentioned common supervisor Dr. Mazen Alameh.
“We won’t threat anybody’s life. We won’t take it as a right that they (Israel) will not bomb.
The Israeli army publicly claimed that the hospital was positioned on high of a Hezbollah bunker and was full of wealth, and 10 sufferers and 50 employees have been subsequently evacuated.
The IDF offered no proof however produced a 3D animation that it claimed confirmed a bunker beneath the constructing. “At present, there are a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} in money and gold contained in the bunker,” IDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari mentioned.
It feels like an invite to a theft.
At present, the hospital’s administration and docs got here collectively to disclaim “Israel’s false accusations” and took us on a tour of the hospital, together with its two underground flooring. The hospital is positioned within the southern suburbs of Hezbollah stronghold, however employees insist it has no hyperlinks to any group.
“It’s actually surprising {that a} Sahel hospital has an affiliation with any political get together in Lebanon,” Dr. Alameh mentioned. “It is a non-public hospital. It is a educating hospital for docs, physicians and different medical college students.
He dismissed Israeli claims that the bunkers have been hidden. “This hospital was constructed 40 years in the past on an previous constructing,” he mentioned.
“There cannot be any tunnels or infrastructure down there. Anybody on the planet can come right here and see every thing they need.
We have been inspired to test each nook. No place is off limits, not even the morgue. Bundles of surgical robes and surgical devices have been opened to indicate that nothing was hidden.
After the tour, we have been free to maneuver round. We see empty wards and anxious employees, however no signal of bunkers.
Israel claims the doorway is in a neighboring constructing. We additionally went there and had free use of the parking zone under. If there was an entrance to a secret bunker, we did not discover it.
The one door we noticed led to the elevator, however we could not open it. However the door will not be hidden, and it appears unlikely that it’s the entrance to a hidden room full of gold.
As we left the hospital, an Israeli drone circled overhead within the daylight. Israel mentioned its air pressure “is monitoring the compound however is not going to assault the hospital itself”.
For now, Sahel hospitals stay closed, however docs hope to have the ability to begin treating sufferers once more.
“We’re a corporation that helps individuals,” mentioned Dr. Walid Alameh, the medical director and Dr. Mazen’s cousin.
“The founding father of this hospital is my father,” he mentioned excitedly. “That is my residence. Hopefully tomorrow we will open.
However Israel operates its personal wartime schedule right here.
This afternoon it bombed Beirut once more, a brief drive from the hospital and on Hezbollah’s doorstep.
A spokesman for the armed group held a uncommon press convention.
Because it progressed, the IDF issued a warning asking residents of two close by buildings to go away as a result of they have been “positioned close to Hezbollah amenities.”
Half an hour later, two different multi-story buildings disappeared from the skyline in seconds, dissolving into darkish clouds of smoke and ash.
At residence and within the hospital, many individuals are scared.
