First Responders Recover Mementos from Razed Lebanese Civil Defense Center]

NABATIEH, Lebanon (Reuters) — Rescue workers in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh returned this week to sift through the wreckage of their civil defense headquarters, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike last month, recovering personal belongings and archival materials amid ongoing Israeli bombardment.

Hussein Daqdouq, a civil defense volunteer wearing grey overalls, described the emotional task as crews searched for remnants of their professional and personal lives.

“We spend more time at this center than in our homes. We lost everything here,” Daqdouq said, as colleagues pulled a fire extinguisher from the debris. “We come every day to search and see if we can find any of our belongings—our memories, our archives.”

Nabatieh, a provincial capital located about 10 miles (15 km) from the Israeli border, has endured sustained Israeli aerial assaults throughout the recent conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. The city also suffered major damage during fighting two years ago.

The latest hostilities began March 2 when Hezbollah fired upon Israel in support of Iran at the onset of the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran.

Sixteen members of Nabatieh’s civil defense unit have been killed and 15 wounded in the current war, according to regional coordinator Hussein Fakih. A drone strike on May 12 struck near the center, killing two responders and prompting the team to relocate temporarily. The facility was subsequently hit directly on May 23, reducing it to rubble. Fakih said civil defense personnel came under fire while conducting emergency operations.

Malek Zineddine, another civil defense member, stated the compound was struck without warning despite the international Civil Defense emblem—a blue triangle within an orange circle—displayed on the roof. “That’s what made us so surprised,” he said. “We always respected the Civil Defence emblem. We ruled out the possibility of the Israeli enemy targeting us.”

The Israeli military and prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed May 24 that the Nabatieh civil defense center had been destroyed the prior day, noting it was unoccupied at the time.

Displaced residents have cautiously returned following a U.S.-Iranian ceasefire agreement announced late last month, though renewed Israeli strikes forced many to flee again, said Khodr Kodeih, a member of the municipal council. He estimated over 1,500 residential and commercial properties damaged or destroyed in the city.

According to Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research, more than 9,970 housing units in the Nabatieh area were damaged or destroyed between March 2 and May 17—the highest per-district toll nationwide.

Israeli warplanes have targeted areas around Nabatieh since the Iran deal took effect, Lebanese state media and security sources reported. While ground operations have not reached the city, Israeli forces have attempted to encircle it and faced resistance from Hezbollah fighters operating in surrounding villages and hilltop positions, according to security officials.

The conflict has resulted in nearly 4,000 Lebanese deaths since March 2, including 746 women, children, and healthcare workers, per the Health Ministry. Over 1.2 million people have been displaced, authorities report.

Additional reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut and Pesha Magid in Jerusalem. Writing by Tom Perry. Editing by William Maclean.

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