Eyewitnesses Detail Three Deadly Israeli Strikes on Medical Teams in Southern Lebanon
Israeli military forces conducted three separate strikes targeting medical teams within minutes in southern Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of four paramedics and injuries to six others. The attacks occurred on Wednesday morning near the village of Mayfadoun, creating what witnesses described as a hellish scene of destruction.
Sequence of Attacks on Rescue Teams
According to eyewitness accounts gathered by The Associated Press, the incident began when two initial ambulances were attacked by Israeli forces. Hearing about these attacks, a third emergency team rushed to the scene despite knowing the extreme danger. What they discovered was devastating: the first two ambulances were completely destroyed with blown tires and shattered windows, while six of the eight crew members lay bloodied in the road or inside one vehicle.
"I felt sick. I couldn't believe my eyes," recounted Mohammed Jaber, 43, speaking from his emergency team's headquarters in Nabatiyeh. "We hurried to load the most critically injured into our working ambulances."
As team leader Mahdi Abu Zaid ran to close the ambulance doors, their vehicle too came under attack. An Israeli drone smashed the windows and struck Abu Zaid, throwing him to the ground. The 30-year-old paramedic, who had a 4-year-old son and sold spices and nuts when not volunteering, was later pronounced dead on arrival at al-Najda Hospital.
Footage Confirms Eyewitness Accounts
The paramedics' descriptions of events match footage captured by a GoPro camera strapped to one of the medical workers. The video shows a barrage of fire hitting the ambulance as medical workers administered first aid to two colleagues in blood-soaked clothing, with one breathing shallowly through an oxygen mask.
Remarkably, the three strikes occurred within less than six minutes of the third team's arrival at the scene. Only after these attacks did a fourth rescue team finally manage to reach the stranded medics and evacuate the wounded without being targeted.
Wider Pattern of Attacks on Healthcare
These latest strikes represent a continuation of Israel's targeting of Lebanon's health sector during the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah. Humanitarian agencies report that before a recent truce took effect, an average of two health workers were killed daily in this war.
The Lebanese Health Ministry has recorded at least 100 medical workers killed since Israel launched its bombing campaign and ground invasion in Lebanon on March 2. This retaliation came after Hezbollah fired missiles across the border following Israeli and American strikes against Iran.
"This war is different than all the other wars," said Mohammed Suleiman, chief paramedic for Nabatiyeh Emergency Services. His own 16-year-old son Joud, who had been helping on missions since childhood, was killed with a fellow paramedic in an Israeli strike on their motorcycle on March 24.
International Condemnation and Israeli Response
The ambulance attacks have drawn strong condemnation from international bodies, including the United Nations' human rights office, which expressed being "shocked" and warned that intentionally targeting medics constitutes a war crime.
When questioned about the Mayfadoun strikes, the Israeli army did not repeat previous accusations about Hezbollah's alleged use of health facilities as cover for militant activities. Instead, military officials stated they were aware of reports about the ambulance attacks and that "the incident is under review."
Hezbollah-Affiliated Medical Networks Targeted
The first two teams of paramedics attacked on Wednesday were dispatched by the Islamic Health Committee, a major healthcare provider affiliated with Hezbollah, and the Risala Scout Association, a paramedic group affiliated with Hezbollah's ally, the Amal movement. Dozens of paramedics from both groups have been killed during six weeks of warfare.
According to the World Health Organization, 59 primary healthcare centers have been shuttered due to Israeli attacks, including the main Islamic Health Committee clinic in Jibsheet village destroyed last month. The UN health agency also denounced Israeli strikes that twice hit Lebanon's Tebnine Government Hospital this week, wounding 11 medical workers and damaging critical equipment.
Ambulance Displayed as Evidence of Attacks
With a ceasefire in effect on Friday, the Nabatiyeh medics returned to the roadside in Mayfadoun where they had been attacked. They found the three ambulances still sitting there, peppered with shrapnel, with blood stains on the asphalt.
The emergency workers hauled Abu Zaid's mangled ambulance to a public square in Nabatiyeh, where they hope it will serve as a powerful reminder of what occurred. "We want this vehicle to bear witness," said Mahdi Sadeq, a coordinator for the service. "To bear witness to what happened, to what this war has done to our profession."
For emergency workers like Mohammed Jaber, the attacks raise fundamental questions about Israel's military strategy: "They should be targeting fighters, where the fighting is happening, at the border. Why target medics and civilians? So that life becomes unbearable and people tell Hezbollah to give up?"
