Tyre Civil Defense Chief: Loss and the Mission to Save Lives
Al Jazeera Staff
Ali Safiuddin, Tyre's civil defense chief, has spent decades saving lives while bearing personal losses, including his daughter's death in 2006. Amid a fragile ceasefire and ongoing Israeli strikes, he and his team remain committed despite the dangers, recently losing three members in an attack.
Ali Safiuddin, head of civil defense in Tyre, the largest city in southern Lebanon, has become accustomed to confronting both life and loss in his rescue career. Although southern Lebanon is officially under a ceasefire, the area along the 'Golden Road'—a security zone Israel claims to control—still witnesses frequent bombings and shelling.
On a late June morning, Safiuddin said recent attacks occurred only in al-Mansouri and Majadal, two towns in the Tyre district along the Golden Road. He called the current situation 'relatively normal' as Israeli forces have not directly bombed Tyre, but fighting continues in the outskirts, within the Israeli-imposed military zone extending about 10 kilometers inside Lebanon's border.
Safiuddin is the central figure in the new Al Jazeera Originals short film Those We Could Not Save. During the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, he took his wife and one-year-old daughter Lynn to shelter in a bunker beneath the civil defense center, which he thought was safe. However, Israel bombed the building, killing Lynn. The memory still haunts him, yet it also drives him to continue his mission of saving others. 'I feel my daughter's spirit is still with me,' he said.
In the film, he recalls rescuing a girl after the 2020 Beirut port explosion. 'We pulled a girl out after 18 hours of digging by hand under three floors. She was about 14 at the time. If my daughter were alive, she'd be the same age. This girl survived, so I feel I'm bringing back my daughter's spirit.'
Safiuddin's work is tied to family. His 18-year-old son Husein now serves alongside him in the civil defense force. He calls all those under his command 'my children.' 'Each of them has been with me for years. They live next to me. I'm not just a station chief; I'm their father.'
Safiuddin hopes the film will show the world the reality of Israeli attacks on Lebanon. 'Especially the assassination of my colleagues, which truly exposes the brutality of war and what Israel is causing—killing children, the elderly,' he said.
Israel's recent reduction of attacks north of the Golden Road has given Safiuddin and his colleagues some respite. But on April 28, a double Israeli airstrike on Majdal Zoun village killed Hussein Ghadbouni, Hussein Sati, and Hadi Daher, three members of his team. According to the UN, Israel has repeatedly targeted Lebanese rescue and medical personnel, killing at least 135 since early March. Airstrikes often occur when rescue teams arrive on site to search for survivors.
Knowing they could be targets, rescue workers have had to change tactics. 'One ambulance enters the site of an airstrike, another waits outside in case the team encounters trouble,' Safiuddin said. Daher, one of the three killed, had volunteered with the team since age 15. 'Losing a colleague—they're like family, it truly affects me. We have a pact—if one dies first, the other will continue the mission to keep them alive forever.'
During the 2006 war, the civil defense headquarters where he worked was also targeted by Israel. He is now using the relatively quiet time to prepare for the possibility of further Israeli attacks. 'After the war, I spent most of my time rebuilding the civil defense center and staying with my colleagues. Whatever the circumstances, we are ready with what we have. I hope things don't escalate, but when the order comes, we will act. I am no longer afraid. I fear for those beside me, but I do not fear war. If I gave up this job, it would be like giving up my daughter.'
