Health workers in Lebanon are facing challenging circumstances as they confront death and destruction on a personal and professional level.

Lebanon’s health system has been thrust into crisis following the explosion of message-receiving devices on 17 and 18 September, and the events that followed.

Dr Fathalla Fattouh, Head Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon at Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH), witnessed the chaos firsthand. "The explosions caused a surge of nearly identical injuries—amputations, eye trauma, and shattered hip and femur bones—straining the hospital’s capacity to a near-breaking point,” he shared.

The devices, including pagers and VHF radios, exploded simultaneously, leading to a mass influx of patients requiring rare, specialized surgeries, such as ophthalmological and orthopedic interventions.