After the sirens: Lebanon's first responders swing between duty and grief

The father of Hussein Jaber, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon, on May 12, cries during the funeral ceremony in Sidon the following day. Diego Ibarra Sánchez/for NPR hide caption toggle caption Diego Ibarra Sánchez/for NPR SIDON, Lebanon — In this southern Lebanese city, Nareej Ramal is weeping in the arms of her father-in-law; the civil defense uniform her husband, Hussein Jaber, wore every day is draped around her shoulders like a final embrace. Jaber, 32, a veteran first responder with Lebanon's interior ministry, was killed along with his colleague Ahmad Noura, 45, by an Israeli drone on May 12 in Nabatieh, a city in southern Lebanon, as they tried to rescue a man wounded in another strike moments earlier. His death came just days before Ramal and Jaber's first wedding anniversary. The two men were the latest of over 100 first responders killed in Israeli airstrikes since the war between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah began on March 2 . A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that began in April has not slowed Israeli attacks. Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes, without providing evidence, claims Lebanon's health ministry denies. International law protects hospitals, rescue teams and ambulance crews. "But what we see now, no, it's not that," says Mona Boud Zeid, the director of Al Najdeh al-Shaabiyeh Hospital, which treats the wounded in southern Lebanon. …