(Credit: Mohamad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour
The hardest part was facing the family — the wife and children of his former colleague. At the mention of the funeral, held on Wednesday, March 11 in Sour, Qassem Shaalan lowers his voice. “The scene shook me.”His friend, Youssef Assaf, was killed in an Israeli strike. “One day, you’re saving lives together. The next, you’re burying a colleague,” he says. After just nine days of war, the paramedic’s death sent shockwaves through Lebanon’s community of first responders.Since then, the toll has continued to rise. In total, 88 healthcare workers have been killed since March 2. The Lebanese Red Cross is now mourning its second victim, just four days before the announcement of a cease-fire. Hassan Badaoui was killed on Sunday, April 12, in Beit Yahoun, in the Bint Jbeil district.For the first time, Qassem’s team feels it may be directly...
The hardest part was facing the family — the wife and children of his former colleague. At the mention of the funeral, held on Wednesday, March 11 in Sour, Qassem Shaalan lowers his voice. “The scene shook me.”His friend, Youssef Assaf, was killed in an Israeli strike. “One day, you’re saving lives together. The next, you’re burying a colleague,” he says. After just nine days of war, the paramedic’s death sent shockwaves through Lebanon’s community of first responders.Since then, the toll has continued to rise. In total, 88 healthcare workers have been killed since March 2. The Lebanese Red Cross is now mourning its second victim, just four days before the announcement of a cease-fire. Hassan Badaoui was killed on Sunday, April 12, in Beit Yahoun, in the Bint Jbeil district.For the first time, Qassem’s team feels it...
