BEIRUT (AP) — Hours after an Israeli airstrike leveled a three-story building in Beirut, killing at least 10 people, Maggie Sharawi received a call from a nearby resident. The caller reported that the attack had also claimed the life of a cat that had several kittens.
While civil defense teams searched the rubble for human victims and survivors, Sharawi and other members of Animals Lebanon, an animal protection organization, rushed to the scene in Beirut’s central Burj Abi Haidar neighborhood on Friday.
They climbed through twisted metal and collapsed walls to reach the trapped kittens. Just a few days old, the animals were pulled from the debris, placed in a plastic carrier, and taken away as rescuers continued their search for other cats whose cries could be heard beneath the rubble.
Over the past three weeks, Sharawi noted, they have rescued 190 animals from strike sites across Beirut and its southern suburbs. Some animals are returned to their owners, while others find refuge at the group’s shelter in the Lebanese capital.
“We believe that caring for animals is caring for humans. In the end, it is the people who are calling us for help,” Sharawi explained.
Since Hezbollah began attacking Israeli military positions along the border in October last year, prompting Israeli airstrikes and shelling across southern Lebanon, animal rights activists have ventured into the affected areas to rescue pets.
Following Israel’s escalation of attacks on September 23, which displaced hundreds of thousands, many residents left their pets behind in southern Lebanon or in the suburbs of Beirut. In response, animal rights activists have intensified their efforts, risking their lives to save mainly cats and dogs or to reunite them with their fleeing owners.
“Our teams are working 24 hours a day,” Sharawi reported, adding that they enter homes in the southern suburbs to ensure animals are brought to safety.
After the kittens were rescued, two adult cats remained but were too frightened for the activists to approach. Animals Lebanon members later returned with metal traps baited with food, hoping the cats would enter and be captured.
In cases where animals are injured, Sharawi said they typically rush them to a clinic for treatment. Those in good condition are either returned to their owners or taken to shelters.
Many rescued animals have suffered injuries, including broken bones from falling debris.
“We are dealing with cases we have never seen before,” Sharawi remarked.