Israel Expands Strikes into Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, Leaving Destruction and Lives in Tatters
Amid the aftermath of another Israeli airstrike, Samir El Chekieh races through Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in his ambulance, sirens echoing across the war-torn landscape. A 32-year-old firefighter and paramedic with the Lebanese Civil Defense Force (CDF), Samir has barely slept and hasn’t eaten. As the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, he and his team respond to emergencies under constant threat, expecting large-scale casualties each day.
For Samir and others in the CDF, the devastation this time is far worse than in Lebanon’s 2006 conflict with Israel. “This is different,” he says, describing the constant bombings, including hits on essential facilities like fire stations and even churches.
Civilian Toll Rises as Conflict Escalates
CDF members witness growing numbers of civilian casualties, many of whom are women and children. Israeli airstrikes have spread beyond southern Lebanon and Beirut, extending into the fertile Bekaa Valley and historic Baalbek, areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. Attacks on the cities of Sidon and Tyre have also increased. Israel maintains that its strikes target only Hezbollah infrastructure, asserting that its campaign has significantly reduced Hezbollah’s missile stockpile. However, Hezbollah continues to launch rockets toward Israel daily.
The BBC recently accompanied CDF teams in the Bekaa Valley, where Samir and others have become all too familiar with death and destruction. On October 28 alone, Israel carried out over 100 airstrikes in the region, leaving 160 dead in one week, based on official figures that do not separate civilian and combatant casualties.
A Scene of Ruins and Resilience
When Samir and his team arrive at El Karak, smoke and dust choke the air. As they survey the destruction, they spot survivors trapped under the rubble. With fires still burning, Samir enters the debris without gloves, feeling broken bones beneath his hands as he pulls out what remains of a child’s body. “The first person I found was a child,” he later recalls. “Just half of their body.”
Miraculously, the team eventually finds a 10-year-old girl alive, trapped with her younger brother, Mohammed. Hours later, they manage to rescue him, his small figure barely visible through the wreckage. Both siblings survive, though Mohammed is now in Iraq receiving treatment for severe head injuries.
A Commitment to Humanity
CDF’s work crosses sectarian lines in Lebanon, bringing together people of all faiths. “We don’t ask about the background of those we help; we’re humanitarians,” says Samir, a Christian. At the Zahle station where he leads operations, a statue of the Virgin Mary watches over a city now scarred by conflict.
UN data estimates that each day in October, Israeli attacks killed at least one child and injured 10. The ongoing tragedy has left scars on Samir and his colleagues, who have also lost fellow responders in strikes.
Displacement and Loss Multiply
In recent days, the UN documented Lebanon’s largest forced displacement since the conflict began, as 150,000 people fled Baalbek following an Israeli warning. In the ruins of his destroyed home, Hussein Nassereldine, a longtime resident of Baalbek, vows to stay despite the devastation.
“Only decent people lived here,” he insists, preparing to pitch a tent on the remains of his family’s home.
The Face of Determination
In a Beirut hospital, two-year-old Kayan Smeha lies injured, his head bandaged after an airstrike claimed the lives of his family. His mother Najat cradles him gently, holding back tears. “If they think they can break us, they’re wrong,” she says. For Najat and many others, the pain of losing loved ones has only strengthened their resolve to endure.
In the early morning, as the sun rises over Lebanon, Samir prepares for another day on duty. “Some memories never leave,” he admits. But he finds strength in his faith and in each life he saves. “When you save one person, it gives you the strength to keep going.”
