{"id":148885,"date":"2026-05-20T18:20:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/flak-jackets-and-the-last-goodbye-lebanons-first-responders-come-under-fire\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T18:23:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:23:45","slug":"flak-jackets-and-the-last-goodbye-lebanons-first-responders-come-under-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/flak-jackets-and-the-last-goodbye-lebanons-first-responders-come-under-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Flak jackets and the last goodbye: Lebanon’s first responders come under fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Recent attacks killed two Lebanese Red Cross volunteers: Youssef Assaf, who was killed during a rescue operation on 9 March, and Hassan Badawi, killed in a drone strike on 12 April.<\/p>\n

According to the United Nations World Health Organization (Who<\/a>), there have been 169 confirmed attacks on health workers and facilities in Lebanon, resulting in 116 deaths.<\/p>\n

Lebanese officials say more than 3,000 people have been killed since hostilities escalated in March, with violence continuing despite a ceasefire. Lebanon-based Hezbollah fighters began shelling Israeli communities soon after the Israeli-American bombing of Iran began; The shelling continues today, with media reports indicating that 21 Israeli soldiers have been killed since March 2.<\/p>\n

united nations news<\/em> Spoke to Thamin al-Khaitan, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office. OHCHR<\/a>; Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); and Ali Saad from the Lebanese Red Cross. They all agree on one thing: that first responders should never be targeted.<\/p>\n

Aid workers caught in the crossfire<\/h2>\n

From a human rights perspective, deliberately targeting medical personnel is a war crime. According to Mr. Al-Khaitan of OHCHR, the international community must do more to ensure the protection of health workers in all conflicts.<\/p>\n

The office “has documented cases where Israeli forces have carried out direct attacks on civilians, including medical personnel,” he said, stressing that such attacks are not unprecedented, pointing to similar patterns previously recorded in Gaza and other conflicts around the world.<\/p>\n

\n \u00a9 UNICEF\/Fouad Choufani<\/span>
\n Signs of missile attacks are visible in a residential neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon. (file)<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A ‘shocking’ scene<\/h2>\n

Describing a recent trip to Lebanon, IFRC’s Mr Della Longa recalled the terrifying sight of Red Cross volunteers donning flak jackets and helmets before rushing out to save lives.<\/p>\n

He said, “What shocked me most was to see Lebanon lose people who are committed to humanity and service to others.”<\/p>\n

Mr Della Longa said details and location of Yusuf Assaf and Hassan Badawi’s mission were shared with the warring parties. They were apparently traveling in an ambulance marked with the Red Cross insignia when they were killed.<\/p>\n

‘They’re not just numbers’<\/h2>\n

“Behind every paramedic or volunteer who dies is a family \u2013 they’re not just numbers,” he said. “Yusuf’s pregnant wife and a son were waiting for him at home.”<\/p>\n

For Mr. Della Longa, “attacking an ambulance and killing a humanitarian worker means weakening entire communities.”<\/p>\n

He reiterated his call on the international community to respect and protect civilians, humanitarian workers and medical transport in accordance with international law.<\/p>\n

\n \u00a9UNHCR\/Houssam Hariri<\/span>
\n Rescue workers look relieved after a missile attack on a neighborhood in Beirut. (file)<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ceasefire is failing on the ground<\/h2>\n

To help protect rescue teams, the Lebanese Red Cross works with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (unifil<\/a>), sharing coordinates and ensuring that all belligerents are informed of the whereabouts of paramedics. This important task is known as decompression, explained Mr. Saad, Liaison Coordinator of the Lebanese Red Cross.<\/p>\n

But despite all these measures, rescue workers are still being targeted.<\/p>\n

“That’s why Red Cross volunteers hug and say goodbye to each other before every mission,” he explained.<\/p>\n

The killings of Youssef Assaf and Hassan Badawi still haunt their volunteer colleagues who have no explanation as to why they were targeted. Such attacks \u2013 and the killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil on April 22 \u2013 are evidence of a \u201cdouble tap\u201d trend that is increasing, Mr. Saad stressed.<\/p>\n

taken to stretcher and killed<\/h2>\n

Hassan Badawi was killed in an attack as he was being taken out of an ambulance with a stretcher during a rescue operation in southern Lebanon. \u201cA drone hit him directly and left 300 pieces of shrapnel in his body,\u201d Mr. Saad said.<\/p>\n

Given UNIFIL’s key disruptive role, their imminent withdrawal and withdrawal from Lebanon next year is unthinkable, the Red Cross worker says: “I don’t know who would support us, but UNIFIL were, in fact, international witnesses to what was happening. They could not stop the war or provide a security umbrella, but they were the only true witnesses to this situation.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, 5,000 Red Cross volunteers will continue to go on missions and risk their lives. They can access areas located in the so-called \u201cyellow line\u201d \u2013 a prohibited zone inside southern Lebanon created by the Israeli army last month \u2013 but cannot enter battlefield areas near the border, even to pick up bodies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not military people, their only weapon is to bandage and help people,\u201d which should be reason enough to protect them, Mr Saad insists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recent attacks killed two Lebanese Red Cross volunteers: Youssef Assaf, who was killed during a rescue operation on 9 March, and Hassan Badawi, killed in a drone strike on 12 April. According to the United Nations World Health Organization (Who), there have been 169 confirmed attacks on health workers and facilities in Lebanon, resulting in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":120836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[231,32364,1931,8455,7348,10929],"class_list":["post-148885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-verse","tag-fire","tag-flak","tag-goodbye","tag-jackets","tag-lebanons","tag-responders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148890,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148885\/revisions\/148890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}