Just before 1:00 am on October 4, Lebanese Elie Hachem received the most important phone call of his life, informing him that the Israeli army was about to strike in the vicinity of the Sainte-Thérèse hospital, of which he is the executive director and which is the only one still in operation in southern Beirut. "Urgent warning to the residents of the southern suburbs, in particular to those of the building shown on the map, located in the Hadeth neighborhood, and to the adjacent buildings: you are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which IDF will operate in the near future," said the Israeli army statement, shared on social media and picked up by the Lebanese.

On the map published by the Israeli army, the Sainte-Therese hospital was specifically mentioned and pointed out. From his home in the heights of Hazmieh, not far from the hospital, Elie Hachem, 33, had no time to lose. He got on Google Maps and calculated the distance between the target given by the Israeli army and Sainte-Thérèse. "Since the beginning of the war, I've known that if the target is less than 200 meters from our premises, the situation is serious and we'd have to evacuate. Which was indeed the case that evening," said the tall, lanky man who weighs up every word. Although the hospital's safe rooms are located in the basement of the intensive care unit, but opposite the site of the expected strike, Elie Hachem decided to ask the doctors, nurses and other staff to direct patients to the first floor and to take refuge in the admissions room, which he felt was "better protected."

That evening, 13 people were hospitalized in the facility, including three premature babies. Twenty minutes after the evacuation order, the Israeli army struck the neighborhood, causing an eight-story residential building to collapse. "In our hospital, no one was hurt, not even a small cut," said Elie Hachem on Thursday, October 24.

Unhealthy security situation

His father, the founder and director of the Sainte-Thérèse hospital, Fadi Hachem, who studied in France, makes no secret of his pride. A few hours before the explosion, he left Beirut for a business trip to the US, leaving his son in charge of the hospital. "He's done very well," said the urology surgeon, now back at his desk.

At the hospital, the explosion shattered the windows on all seven floors of the building. Water pipes were punctured and the electrical network was severely affected, damaging various medical devices. "We've already spent around $100,000 (€92,400) to repair or change equipment, and there are still things to be done," said Elie Hachem. Since October 4, the Israeli army has struck several times in the vicinity of Hadeth municipality, damaging parts of the hospital for the second time. On the night of October 24-25, at least three powerful strikes hit the area around the hospital.

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