First responders in southern Lebanon face enormous risks as they work to rescue and assist people caught up in conflict and violence.
Paramedics, firefighters and rescue workers often rush into dangerous areas to save lives, sometimes while airstrikes or shelling are still taking place. Their work comes with the constant possibility of injury or death.
For many first responders, the job is deeply personal. They witness people being killed or wounded, search through destroyed buildings for survivors and sometimes recover the bodies of people they knew. Despite the emotional toll, they continue returning to the scene whenever an emergency occurs.
The loss of colleagues has made the work even more difficult. When a responder is killed while carrying out a rescue mission, their colleagues are left to grieve while continuing their duties under the same dangerous conditions.
Their experiences highlight the human cost of the conflict in southern Lebanon—not only for civilians caught in the fighting, but also for the people who risk their own lives trying to save them.