In the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, a group of emergency workers, dressed in identical uniforms, gathered around two coffins, weeping bitterly, as they prepared to bury two of their colleagues killed by an Israeli strike.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, Ali Jaber and Joud Sleiman were hit on Tuesday while riding a motorbike in southern Lebanon on a rescue mission. Both were wearing emergency service uniforms and their motorbike was clearly marked as an ambulance, with flashing lights.
"He was an emergency worker who wasn't even carrying a knife, he was going to save someone else - and they hit him and killed him. This has happened in more than one attack and in more than one place," said Hassan Jaber, Ali's father and a local official.
The Lebanese Health Ministry says at least 42 emergency workers have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2, when the militant group Hezbollah dragged the country into the regional war by firing on Israel in support of Iran.
Israeli attacks and evacuation orders for large areas in southern Lebanon have emptied most of the town of Nabatieh of its inhabitants.
After the funeral, emergency workers gathered in the town square to distribute aid to the few remaining residents and then immediately returned to their work.
Among them was Mohammed Sleiman, Joud's father and head of the emergency services in Nabatieh. He accused Israel of deliberately killing his son, saying that Israel "insists on harming, killing, oppressing and terrorizing - while we insist on standing."
