The three rescuers killed by an Israeli drone in southern Lebanon: Abbas Hammoud, Mohammad Hachem and Kassem Bazzi (from left to right). Collage by OLJ using Civil Defense photos.
Three Lebanese Civil Defense rescuers killed by an Israeli drone on Saturday in southern Lebanon will be buried on Monday, according to a statement that highlights, “The General Directorate of Civil Defense mourns the three martyrs who fell on Sept. 7, 2024, while performing their national and humanitarian duty.”
The three men — Kassem Bazzi, Mohammad Hachem and Abbas Hammoud — died in the Froun region of Bint Jbeil district, an area that the Israeli army began heavily shelling from Friday night. They were with two of their colleagues, who were injured at the scene of fires caused by the strikes in wooded and rugged areas of this locality, which is not directly along the border with Israel.
According to the statement, relayed Sunday by our correspondent in the region, each of the three deceased Civil Defense members will be buried in their hometowns. Bazzi’s remains will be transported to Froun, Hammoud’s to Ghandourieh, and Hachem’s to Burj Qalaway. A joint funeral ceremony will start at 3 p.m. at “Post Al-Mizan, on the hill between Ghandourieh and Burj Qalaway.”
Short Biographies
Short biographies of the three rescuers have been released by the Civil Defense. All were based in Froun and had become permanent rescuers in August 2024.
Hachem, born Aug. 8, 1980, was married and a father of three children. He had volunteered since 2004. Hammoud, born Jan. 20, 1978, also became a volunteer in 2004. He was married and father of four children. Finally, Bazzi, born March 20, 1972, leaves behind four children. He started working as a volunteer in 2002 and was integrated at the same time as his two colleagues.
The deaths of these three Civil Defense members have prompted several reactions from Lebanese officials.
On Saturday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned it as “a blatant violation of international laws and a manifest aggression against human values.” He has called for an “emergency meeting” with ambassadors in Lebanon and representatives of international bodies on Monday to ask them to “press Israel.”
In another statement published Saturday, the Civil Defense noted that it was “not the first time” that the Israeli army had “targeted” its paramedics and teams “operating in Lebanese villages, thinking thus to discourage these teams from playing their humanitarian and national role in rescuing the injured and extinguishing fires.” The institution condemned the attack and expressed its condolences to the families of the victims.
The Amal Movement, in its condolence message, specified that two of the volunteers, Hachem and Bazzi, were members of this faction led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah. Michel Moussa, the chairman of the parliamentary human rights committee and a member of Berri's group, stated in a press release that “the Israeli aggression continues to defy all laws, standards, and morals, the latest being the deliberate killing of the Civil Defense martyrs in the performance of their duties.”
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily since Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the outbreak of the Gaza war between the Hebrew State and Hamas.