NABATIYEH, Lebanon (AP) \u2014 It was late morning when two ambulances slowed to a stop outside of the village of Mayfadoun in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Having heard minutes earlier on Wednesday that Israel had attacked two other ambulances, hitting one and then the other after it showed up to help the first, they didn\u2019t hesitate before rushing to the scene. They knew the danger, and they found a hellscape. <\/p>\n
The first two ambulances were destroyed, their tires blown and windows shattered. Six of their eight crew members were covered in blood and lying in the road or the back of one vehicle. A paramedic in one of the driver\u2019s seats, blood pulsing from his abdomen, was cradling a colleague in his lap, pleading with him to stay conscious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt sick. I couldn\u2019t believe my eyes,\u201d Mohammed Jaber, 43, told The Associated Press on Friday from his emergency team\u2019s headquarters in Nabatiyeh, where team members dozed on foam mattresses. A 10-day truce in the Israel-Hezbollah<\/a> war delivered the exhausted team a rare respite from the drum line of explosions. <\/p>\n Jaber said he and the others hurried to load the most critically injured into their working ambulances. As team leader Mahdi Abu Zaid ran to close the doors, they, too, were attacked.<\/p>\n The three strikes<\/a>, which killed four paramedics and wounded six others, is the latest example of Israel\u2019s willingness to target Lebanon\u2019s health sector<\/a>. <\/p>\n Such attacks<\/a> became a contentious issue during the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war<\/a>, as Israel accused Hezbollah, as it did Hamas<\/a> in Gaza, of using Lebanese hospitals as cover for militant activities \u2014 a claim denied by Hezbollah and the Lebanese Health Ministry. <\/p>\n The attacks haven\u2019t slowed, as humanitarian agencies report that an average of two health workers have been killed every day in this war before a truce took hold<\/a> Friday.<\/p>\n Back-to-back-to-back strikes<\/p>\n In response to questions about the Mayfadoun strikes, the Israeli army did not repeat its previous accusations about Hezbollah\u2019s use of health facilities. Instead, it said it was aware of reports about the ambulance attacks and \u201cthe incident is under review.\u201d<\/p>\n The attack on the third team of ambulances to make a rescue attempt Wednesday happened as they were still assessing the first two crews\u2019 injuries, less than six minutes after their arrival.<\/p>\n An Israeli drone smashed the vehicles\u2019 windows and struck 30-year-old Abu Zaid, throwing him to the ground, his colleagues told the AP. Abu Zaid, who had a 4-year-old son and sold spices and nuts when he wasn\u2019t volunteering as a paramedic, was later proclaimed dead on arrival at al-Najda Hospital.<\/p>\n Their accounts of what happened match footage captured by a GoPro camera that was strapped on one of the paramedics. The video shows<\/a> a barrage of fire hitting the ambulance as medical workers administered first aid to two colleagues in blood-soaked clothes, one taking shallow breaths through an oxygen mask.<\/p>\n After the third attack, a fourth team of rescuers finally managed to reach the stranded medics and evacuate the wounded without being targeted. <\/p>\n Risking their lives to save lives<\/p>\n The attacks on the ambulances have drawn condemnation, including from the United Nations\u2019 human rights office, which said it was \u201cshocked\u201d and warned that intentionally targeting medics constituted a war crime. <\/p>\n For the emergency workers involved, it was the latest example of Israel\u2019s efforts to wreck southern Lebanon\u2019s health system<\/a> as its army extends security control<\/a> to the Litani River<\/a>, some 20 miles (30 kilometers) into Lebanese territory, in a bid to protect its northern towns<\/a> from Iran-backed Hezbollah.<\/p>\n \u201cThey should be targeting fighters, where the fighting is happening, at the border,\u201d said Jaber. \u201cWhy target medics and civilians? So that life becomes unbearable and people tell Hezbollah to give up?\u201d <\/p>\n The Lebanese Health Ministry has recorded at least 100 medical workers killed since Israel launched its bombing campaign and ground invasion<\/a> in Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah firing missiles<\/a> across the border on March 2, after Israel and the United States began strikes against Iran<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThis war is different than all the other wars,\u201d said Mohammed Suleiman, the chief paramedic for Nabatiyeh Emergency Services. <\/p>\n His own son, 16-year-old Joud \u2014 who had been tagging along and helping on missions since he was a young child \u2014 was killed with a fellow paramedic in an Israeli strike on their motorcycle on March 24 \u2014 the unit\u2019s first casualties since its founding in 2002. <\/p>\n \u201cI always had my fears, but I believed that as a neutral organization with no connection to politics, we would be safe, off-limits,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Israel pursues Hezbollah-linked civilian targets<\/p>\n Apart from its armed wing, Hezbollah is one of Lebanon\u2019s most powerful political parties and runs a sprawling network of civilian institutions<\/a> including hospitals and schools.<\/p>\n