Fifteen members of the Civil Defense were killed on Thursday evening in the strike on a center of the organization in Douris, Bekaa, announced the governor of Baalbeck-Hermel Bachir Khodr on X. Among the victims was the regional head of the Civil Defense, Bilal Raad.

“The number of Civil Defense martyrs has risen to 15,” wrote Khodr on X. Ten remains have been identified, while body parts have been extracted from the rubble for another five people, and DNA tests are to be carried out to identify them, according to the regional official.

The official National Information Agency (NNA) reports 13 dead, identified as Bilal Raad, the head of the center hit in Douris, Hussein Hassan, Khalil Nasser al-Dine, Ali Noun, Ali Karkaba, Abbas Halbawi, Hussein Khatib, Ahmad Hamzeh, Hassan Wouhoud, Haidar al-Zeina, Ali Awada, Omar Solh and Abbas Raad.

Firefighters 'ready to intervene to help citizens'

The Interior Ministry's Directorate General for Civil Defense, which had announced in the morning that the strike had hit a center “in which there were personnel ready to respond to calls for help and intervene immediately to assist citizens,” has so far reported 13 identified victims, 10 employees and three volunteers from other centers in the region.

The directorate confirms that DNA tests are underway to identify body parts. Civil Defense “will continue to respond to calls for help and carry out its humanitarian mission, whatever the challenges and sacrifices,” according to the statement. In the morning, the directorate had indicated that three firefighters had also been injured and were being treated at the Baalbeck government hospital.

Rescue and clearing operations are continuing at the site of the strike to search for missing persons, according to the directorate.

'Martyr-hero'

In the morning, Khodr paid tribute to Bilal Raad on X. “I used to call you after every bombing to follow the rescue operations,” Khodr wrote on X. “Who am I going to call now? Who will extinguish the fires in the hearts struck by aggression?” he asked, accompanying his publication with a photo of the victim, a ‘martyr-hero,’ according to the governor.

The President of Baalbeck Municipality, Mustapha al-Chall, also paid tribute to the memory of the local Civil Defense chief. He was “impulsive and in love with Baalbeck and its people,” wrote Chall in a statement. “We will miss you for your enthusiasm and sense of duty, whatever the risks.” He added that “the continued aggression and massacres” by the Israeli army “will only strengthen our resolve.”

This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.