Hussein, one of the patients at the burn center of the Nabih Berri Public Hospital in Nabatieh, on Aug. 6, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L’OLJ)
Only his lips remain unscathed. The rest of Ali’s face is a patchwork of purples and deep reds, while his body, suffering from third-degree burns, is wrapped in white bandages. He has been lying in one of four beds at the burn unit of the Nabih Berri Public Hospital in Nabatieh for 20 days. In a whisper, he recounts the moment that changed his life. “I was delivering water in the village of Deir Siryan [Marjayoun district] when an airstrike hit us,” he said. “There were martyrs too — three children — and others were injured.”In the next room, Mohammad, 19, Ali’s employee, is also covered in bandages. He was on the brink of death and lost all memory of the events leading up to the Israeli strike.“I don’t remember anything; I just know I woke up here,” he said.For these severely injured men, there is no martyr’s honor or praise — only the...
Only his lips remain unscathed. The rest of Ali’s face is a patchwork of purples and deep reds, while his body, suffering from third-degree burns, is wrapped in white bandages. He has been lying in one of four beds at the burn unit of the Nabih Berri Public Hospital in Nabatieh for 20 days. In a whisper, he recounts the moment that changed his life. “I was delivering water in the village of Deir Siryan [Marjayoun district] when an airstrike hit us,” he said. “There were martyrs too — three children — and others were injured.”In the next room, Mohammad, 19, Ali’s employee, is also covered in bandages. He was on the brink of death and lost all memory of the events leading up to the Israeli strike.“I don’t remember anything; I just know I woke up here,” he said.For these severely injured men, there is no martyr’s...