By Nada Bashir, Muhammad Darwish and Charbel Mallo, CNN
Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) — At the doors of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the human cost of Israel’s weeks-long assault on Lebanon was etched onto the faces of desperate families waiting for news of their loved ones. Ambulance doors were opened right at the entryway in an attempt to shield the scene. Body bags, one after another, were swiftly carried inside.
“There are many martyrs. Unfortunately, a number of them are still waiting to be identified,” the hospital’s director, Mohammad Zaatari, told CNN. Despite being the largest public hospital in Lebanon, and operating at full capacity, the facility falls within an Israeli-ordered evacuation zone – meaning it too could become a target. With hundreds of patients, including those in intensive care, evacuation is not an option.
Outside the hospital’s doors, Mohamed Jirani was pacing. His uncle had been admitted after an apartment building was hit by an Israeli airstrike on April 8.
“They’re not hitting fighters. Most of the injured were women and children, or displaced people,” he told CNN. “Why are they targeting civilians when we don’t have weapons? Go to any hospital in Beirut and try to find me one Hezbollah fighter. They’re all civilians.”
These were the scenes in Beirut last week after the Lebanese capital came under an unprecedentedly heavy Israeli attack just hours into a ceasefire in the war between the United States, Israel and Iran. Now, as diplomacy between Israel and Lebanon gathers pace, the city has been granted a moment of reprieve – though the impact of the devastation will take time to recover from, and strikes in the south continue.
The Israeli government says it is targeting fighters and infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant and political group, Hezbollah, which has engaged in decades of conflict with Israel. The aim, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is to secure his country’s northern border region. But across Lebanon, civilians are bearing the brunt of the conflict that flared up again when Hezbollah began firing at Israel at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The Lebanese government, which includes political representatives from Hezbollah, has also moved to put pressure on the group, outlawing its paramilitary wing and ordering the country’s security forces to rid the capital, Beirut, of all non-state arms. Hezbollah officials, however, argue that it, rather than a weak national military, is the only force capable of defending Lebanon against Israeli attacks and a potential occupation in the south.
Southern Lebanon – where Hezbollah has traditionally had a stronghold – has faced near-constant bombardment and ground assaults for over two years. Now, this latest war has extended its reach far beyond the front lines. Across Lebanon, towns and cities once thought to be safe, including the capital, have been gripped by an unpredictable wave of deadly attacks by the Israeli military.
The Lebanese Health Ministry says more than 2,000 people have been killed – including at least 172 children and 91 healthcare workers – and 7,000 wounded in the space of just six weeks. Israel’s airstrikes have killed and wounded civilians in their homes, at work, and even while sheltering at makeshift displacement camps.
Just over a week ago, the Israeli military launched its largest coordinated attack on Lebanon since the beginning of this latest war, striking what it described as 100 Hezbollah targets in just 10 minutes. Israel’s assaul