The Galilee Medical Center in northern Israel has transformed into a fortress as the conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah intensifies. The once bustling hospital now sits mostly empty, with staff and patients seeking refuge underground to escape the constant threat of airstrikes and artillery fire.
Navigating through concrete barricades and blast doors, visitors to the hospital must descend several floors into a labyrinthine subterranean complex where thousands of patients and hospital workers have been living for the past six months. This underground operation is a stark reminder of how life in northern Israel has been upended by the ongoing conflict.
Dr. Masad Barhoum, the hospital’s director general, expressed the hospital’s preparedness for such a scenario, given its proximity to the volatile border with Lebanon. The decision to relocate most of the hospital to an underground backup annex was made even before the government issued evacuation orders, reducing the hospital’s capacity to 30 percent in anticipation of potential trauma patients.
The hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit was the first to move underground, with new parents and doctors now navigating the dimly lit tunnels to care for their tiny patients. Dr. Vered Fleisher Sheffer, the unit’s director, highlighted the challenges of living underground, despite the sense of safety it provides.
The recent Hezbollah strike on a nearby village resulting in casualties brought the conflict even closer to the hospital’s doorstep. Dr. Fleisher Sheffer acknowledged the reality of living alongside their neighbors, the Hezbollah militants, with no end in sight to the ongoing conflict.
The Galilee Medical Center’s transformation into an underground fortress is a testament to the resilience and dedication of its staff in the face of adversity. As the conflict continues to escalate, the hospital remains a beacon of hope and healing in a region torn apart by violence.
