In the heart of the Beqaa Valley, the Abdallah hospital in Rayak is on the front line of Israel’s war on Lebanon. With a relentless barrage of attacks, the staff works tirelessly to tend to the wounded, with over 2,255 dead and 10,524 injured since October 2023.
Surgeons operate on children with severe injuries, families mourn their losses, and the medical staff, exhausted and separated from their families for weeks, fear the worst. With several hospitals already taken out by Israeli strikes, the healthcare system hangs by a thread, facing shortages and financial struggles exacerbated by Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis.
As the staff at Abdallah hospital valiantly continue their work, the broader concern is the systematic destruction of Lebanon’s healthcare infrastructure, echoing the tactics used in Gaza. The UN inquiry uncovered Israel’s deliberate targeting of medical facilities, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity.
‘Children have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering from the collapse of the health system.’
– Navi Pillay, former UN high commissioner for human rights
As the situation escalates, the hospital staff brace themselves for the worst, knowing that the lives of countless innocent civilians hang in the balance.