A door hangs of its hinges in the hallway at Saint Therese Medical Center in Hadath, in Beirut's southern suburbs, following a nearby Israeli strike that damaged the facility in the early hours of Oct. 4, 2024. (Photo sent to L'Orient Today by STMC staff)
BEIRUT — Saint Thérèse Medical Center (STMC) in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, was severely damaged on Thursday night when an Israeli strike targeted a building approximately 100 meters from the facility.
The blast caused widespread destruction and its staff had to scramble to protect their patients, as they say only 20 minutes passed between the Israeli army’s evacuation warning and the moment the air force dropped its munition.
The strike in Hadath was preceded by an intense air raid at another site in the southern suburbs, reportedly targeting Hashem Safieddine, thought to be Hassan Nasrallah’s successor as leader of Hezbollah. The attack targeted underground bunkers and shook the capital.
Hezbollah has not confirmed whether he was targeted and Israel says it is reviewing its intelligence to verify if he was killed.
110 meters from danger
Taking precautions, the hospital’s staff had moved all its operations to the first four floors of the eight-floor building when. At 12:48 a.m. the Israeli army’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson released a statement saying the army would be targeting a building around the corner. L'Orient Today first received reports of a strike on the area at 1:22 a.m., about 30 minutes later.
Screenshot from Google maps
“You must evacuate this building and the surrounding buildings immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 meters,” the statement read. The target building, shaded in red, was a mere 110 meters away from St. Thérèse.
At the time, there were around 20 medical personnel in the hospital, including doctors and nurses, in addition to the practitioners in the ER and the admins, as well as about eight patients.
“We all went down to the ER,” Jessy Kassem, a midwife at STMC told L’Orient Today, “but we were told it wasn’t safe, so we moved to the admissions office.”
Under extreme stress and an intense urgency, the hospital staff started moving fragile patients, including two premature babies. “There was a lot of panic at first, but once we were organized, we were able to calm down and assess the situation properly,” Kassem recalled.
“We brought the babies in incubators with us, and though we were very stressed, we were able to pull through and handle it.”
“We had an emergency plan,” Kassem said. “After we found out about the warning, we started calling all patients and staff to meet on the first floor at one location.”
They had received instructions to shelter in the admissions office. It was the safest area of the hospital, as it had fewer windows and was farthest from the direction in which the explosion was expected to happen.
In addition to the two babies in incubators, there was a woman who was receiving intensive care and several patients who could not walk and had to be relocated to the first floor in their beds. Using the elevator was tricky, since they expected an imminent strike, Kassem said.
“There were patients on oxygen, including at least one baby, and others on machines that could not be disconnected. All of that was taking time.”
A premature baby in an incubator in the medical center's chapel, on Oct. 4, 2024. (Credit: Elie Hachem)
“Five minutes later, the strike happened — we were very scared,” she said. “Thankfully, we helped each other stay calm, and the patients were safe.”
Hachem commended the quick thinking and coordination of his staff, who managed to prevent any injuries despite the proximity of the bombardment.
Damage to the medical center
“No one got hurt, thankfully,” Kassem said. But due to the severe damage, the hospital could not receive any casualties from outside.
“Thanks to the training, we were able to move quickly and get everyone to safety,” Hachem said, adding that medical teams stayed on alert throughout the night, prioritizing the evacuation of the most critical patients.
STMC cafeteria on Oct 4. (Credit: Elie Hachem)
The explosion hit the southwestern side of the hospital, causing severe structural damage. “The water pipes were affected, leading to a big flood that caused electrical problems in the radiology department, operating theater, and ER,” explained Executive Director Elie Hachem.
Emergency repairs have begun and the hospital is functioning at a limited capacity. It remains uncertain when the hospital will be able to fully resume all operations.
The strike not only caused flooding but also severely damaged the hospital’s emergency department, forcing a shutdown of critical services. Staff living in insecure areas have been offered accommodation and meals at the hospital as they continue the recovery effort.
“We’re working as fast as we can to get back up to full capacity, but we don’t know how long it will take,” Hachem said. Two other hospitals in Lebanon both announced on Friday that they had suspended their services due to Israeli strikes, though Hachem emphasized his intention of reopening STMC as soon as repairs are complete.
STMC hallway on Oct 4. (Credit: Elie Hachem)
The Lebanese Health Ministry announced last week that hospitals in Beirut’s southern suburbs would be evacuated after heavy Israeli strikes in the area, urging hospitals in unaffected areas to stop admitting non-urgent cases. STMC being on the cusp of southern Beirut, maintained care for its most critical patients.
St. Thérèse has been under the shadow of intense bombardment since Israel escalated its strikes in the last two weeks, and yet Kassem continues to drives from Akkar, in the very north of Lebanon, to carry out her work at the center.
"We're a medical team, and our goal is humanitarian,” she said. “We can't abandon our patients.”
