Paramedics in Lebanon speak to BBC after Israeli strikes — BBC News

[0:02] Often in Abatir, the only sound you can hear comes from the sky, sometimes hidden behind [0:10] clouds. Israeli drones and fighter jets, which day and night, hammer the city. With emergency [0:23] teams being constantly attacked, every mission for these paramedics comes with risks. [0:28] This is the first day of the war. [0:30] You are a little bit concerned. Why? [0:33] Because today in the morning, about four drone strikes on the cars. So we are waiting for [0:41] the army's approval. They are striking everywhere. [0:47] The war has taken the life out of this place. Once vibrant, Nabatir is now abandoned. Suddenly, [0:56] they find a pick-up truck still burning after being hit by an Israeli airstrike and a body [1:05] unrecognizable, completely charred. Even these men, so used to death, for a moment, are shocked. [1:21] Fear of airstrikes is such that they only spend a few minutes and do everything very quickly. [1:35] In an empty village, we meet a family, hunkered down. The war has forced one in five in this [1:42] country to flee their homes. But some have decided to stay. [1:48] How do you feel being here in a village that is deserted? [1:55] Hopefully, we'll be here and nothing will happen. This is our land and we cannot give it up easily [2:01] to the enemy. I'm scared that if I leave, we won't be able to come back. And this is something that [2:08] hurts me a lot. In wars, defiance can quickly turn into despair. [2:19] And we've been told that we need to go now. But this is the fear that a lot of people have, [2:26] that if they leave, they may never be able to come back. [2:30] This is the pick-up truck where the body was found yesterday. And then, hours later, [2:48] these buildings here, these houses, were hit. And the teams had to wait overnight to be able to come [2:56] here. And they still don't know whether there's anyone under the rubble. [3:01] Any indication why it was targeted? We don't know. We need to open the road, [3:10] even if it's in danger. And why did you have to wait until today to come here? [3:19] Because at night, it's very risky. And today was a rough day. [3:24] Why was it? Strikes everywhere. [3:27] Are you concerned that the war is getting closer? [3:30] Yes. It's, as you see, the damage from the first of the village to the end. And we need to [3:37] keep the roads open for the civilians, for the aids, for the food. We can't close the village, [3:44] even if it's so risky. [3:46] How do you feel when you see so much destruction, so much suffering? [3:49] It's your village. So you, even if it's not your house, but it's your relative, it's your friend. [3:55] You see the house everywhere. Here is the center of the village. We sit here every day for war. [4:01] People gather here, every occasion here. It's sad. It's sad. [4:11] This is the only strike in this area, only our station. [4:18] And the strike here happened in the middle of the night? [4:22] Yes. [4:23] With no warning? [4:24] No, of course there was no warning. [4:27] Ali takes us to what is left of the paramedic station, destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. [4:35] So I'll show you here. [4:37] A colleague was killed. [4:39] He was here. [4:40] Yes. [4:40] He was talking to the phone with his wife, actually. [4:43] And it happened while he was talking on the phone. [4:45] So he just disappeared suddenly. Unfortunately, we found him dead. [4:51] I'm sorry. [4:52] And Israel says some ambulances and some health facilities are being used by Hezbollah. [5:00] This is a lie. [5:01] This is a false claim. [5:02] This is not true. [5:04] They're trying to hide what they did by saying this. [5:07] This is the only explanation. [5:10] They've been saying this repeatedly. [5:12] They don't have any evidence. [5:15] And you haven't seen anything? [5:17] If they have any evidence, let them show us. [5:18] In parts of Lebanon, the rubble of the old war had yet to be removed when this new one started. [5:28] In a country that is a better ground for others, the idea of a nation is also in ruins. [5:34] Hugo Baxaca, BBC News, Nabatia, Southern Lebanon.