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“Don’t go. It’s a suicide mission.”
The order came as civil defence teams stood on a hill near their headquarters next to Najdeh Hospital, watching an Israeli belt of fire tear through a residential block in the Nabatieh suburb of Kafr Ruman in south Lebanon.
A first thunderous boom shook the hill where they stood, followed closely by a cluster of others. When the smoke cleared, a void appeared where a building had once stood.
Rescuers hesitated. They had just returned from the funeral of one of their colleagues, Mahdi Abou Zeid of the Nabatieh Ambulance Service – one of four people killed the previous day in an Israeli 'quadruple-tap' attack targeting paramedics in the nearby village of Mayfadoun.
The attack was fresh in their minds. The sky was heavy with the sound of warplanes and the low flight of drones. Thick smoke coated the air. It all weighed on their decision to go in, or stay back.
Eventually the decision came from the top: “Suicide mission.” The Israeli strikes were too severe, too close together, too unpredictable – and too close to areas where Hezbollah was launching attacks towards Israeli troops stationed further south. The risk of escalation was high. The likelihood of finding survivors was slim.
The decision was not made lightly. Two wounded paramedics – also targeted in the Israeli attack on ambulance workers – were still recovering in Najdeh Hospital.
“As rescuers, when there’s a strike, we wait briefly because we know they might attack a second time,” said Mehdi Salloum of the Nabatieh Ambulance Service.
He was among the emergency personnel targeted on Wednesday. “The [Israelis] always do this.” To hear him and others tell it, their survival seems almost miraculous.
All in all, four paramedics were killed in a series of Israeli attacks, all in quick succession. They came from three civil defence crews: the Islamic Health Authority, a Hezbollah-affiliated rescue service; Al Risala Scouts, belonging to the Amal political movement; and the Nabatieh Ambulance Service, a municipally funded rescue crew. At least four others were injured.
Mr Salloum said crews consider multiple factors before attending: whether there is active fire, the number of reported casualties and how much risk their supervisors are willing to accept.
“We wear helmets, vests, gloves,” he added. “Beyond that, nothing can protect you.”
He was speaking hours before US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire that took hold on Friday.
Danger and targeting
“They were clearly monitoring us, watching what we were doing,” said Gabi Zalghout, a young paramedic with the Islamic Health Authority – a civilian institution under international law, despite its political affiliation. He was among the first to arrive after two residents had hit in an initial strike.
While attempting to retrieve them, a missile struck the ground between him and two other colleagues, sending the young paramedic flying and wounding the others.
When another ambulance crew tried to reach them minutes later, their vehicle was struck, killing three paramedics.
Gabi, injured and crawling on the ground, began to look for survivors, “anyone who might still be alive or breathing”, he told The National from his hospital bed. “I found an ambulance that was damaged but still running. I started carrying them into the ambulance.
“Either I was going to leave with the living, or I wouldn’t leave at all. They were the priority. I had to leave those who were killed on the ground.”
He drove, half-conscious, until he was met by a third paramedic crew from the Nabatieh Ambulance Service. Gabi opened the door, fell out of the car and lost consciousness.
Then a fourth Israeli strike hit that rescue crew, killing a fourth paramedic – Mahdi Abou Zeid from the Nabatieh Ambulance Service.
Medics told The National they have witnessed double-tap attacks countless times. Widely used by Israel in Gaza, the tactic involves carrying out a second strike shortly after the first, targeting first responders as soon as they arrive, to maximise casualties – a violation of international humanitarian law. Gabi said he has witnessed five previous double-tap attacks.
But Wednesday’s was the most blatant yet, said witnesses from the Islamic Health Authority, the Nabatieh Ambulance Service and the Lebanese Civil Defence who were at the scene: it was a quadruple-tap attack.
“This is not the first time, they always target us,” Gabi said. “But not like this.”
Israel has killed more than 90 paramedics in Lebanon since the current war with Hezbollah started, while Human Rights Watch and other groups have denounced repeated attacks on healthcare workers and paramedics as apparent war crimes.
While the Israeli army claims Hezbollah uses Islamic Health Authority ambulances to transport weapons, it has not provided evidence for such claims – nor given a reason as to why it targets other emergency workers as well. When The National reviewed helmet-cam footage of the incident, there was nothing to indicate the presence of weapons in any of the ambulances involved.
Gabi has seen more than 10 of his colleagues buried during this war. But Israel has never been held accountable. “All talk. Geneva Conventions? All talk,” he said. “No one protects us”.
A few hours after Mr Abou Zeid’s funeral, members of Nabatieh’s Ambulance Service gathered at their centre. Israeli air strikes continued to pound the area nearby but it was time to prepare meals.
They split into two teams – some crews on rescue duty, the others to distribute food. Both jobs would be undertaken at considerable risk to their lives: potential suicide missions.
“The [Israelis] want us to stop. But this is our duty. People rely on us,” said Mr Salloum. “We have to be here.”
