Skip to main content
Home International Committee of the Red Cross
Find help Donate
Back
  • Happening now
    Happening now

    Discover what’s new

    Stay updated with the latest news and ongoing initiatives of the ICRC.

    Latest operations

    Featured

    • President Mirjana Spoljaric speaks in the UN Security Council.
      ICRC president: “It is possible to protect civilians in war”
    • ICRC flag with black ribbon attached
      ICRC grieves two colleagues killed in strike in Gaza
    • Damaged areas of the Selydove Central City Hospital. ICRC
      Ukraine: ‘We lost a part of our soul, not just a hospital’
  • Who we are
    Who we are

    We are the International Committee of the Red Cross

    Neutral, impartial, and independent. Discover our values and mission.

    Discover who we are
    • About us
      Our rich history, our mandate and mission, and our Fundamental Principles are behind the work we do to protect and save lives.
    • How we are run
      Our President and leadership, our finances and our accountability ensure the integrity of our humanitarian operations.
    • International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement
      The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world.
  • What we do
    What we do

    Our work to protect people affected by conflict

    The ICRC responds quickly and efficiently to help people affected by armed conflict.

    All our activities

    In focus

    • ICRC working with the Myanmar Red Cross Society to support people displaced by violence in Pin Laung and Hsi Hseng, to provide emergency aid. Photographer: Thang Khan Sian Khai
      Protection: Upholding the rights of people in conflict
    • Reconnecting families: Preventing separation, searching for the missing, reunit…
    • Helping detainees: Protecting and assisting people deprived of their liberty
  • Where we work
    Where we work

    Explore our global reach

    We have offices in over 90 countries around the world, providing assistance and protection to people affected by conflict.

    ICRC around the world

    Key operations

    • Afghanistan
    • Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • Ethiopia
    • Israel and the occupied territories
    • Myanmar
    • Sudan
    • Syria
    • Ukraine
    • Yemen
  • Law & Policy
    Law & Policy

    Law & Policy

    Gain insights into the ICRC's role in developing and promoting international humanitarian law and policy.

    Discover more
    • Geneva Conventions and the law
      Even wars have rules. The Geneva Conventions are at the core of international humanitarian law.
    • Topics, debates and disarmament
      Weapons and disarmament, protected persons and other contemporary challenges for international humanitarian law.
    • Teaching IHL, research, Advisory Service and other resources
      We support the teaching, learning and implementation of humanitarian law principles.
  • Support us
    Support us

    Partner with us

    We invite organizations, institutions and philanthropists to join us in our mission to alleviate the suffering of those affected by armed conflict.

    How to partner with us

    Support us

    Find out how you as an individual can contribute to our humanitarian efforts to help people suffering because of armed conflict.

    How to support us
    • Ukraine: the crisis continues
    • Urgent: Israel-Gaza emergency appeal
    • Myanmar_Red Cross earthquake
      Urgent help needed: Myanmar earthquakes
  • Find help
  • Donate
  • Events
  • Contact us
  • Report an incident of misconduct
  • Work with us
  • FAQ
ICRC Websites
Photo gallery
16-04-2015

ICRC and Lebanese Red Cross action in Lebanon, 1975-2015

  • Lebanon
  • Our history

Share

  • Share on X
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Facebook
CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/C. Gluntz

1976. Wounded civilians receive treatment in a field hospital.

“One day we entered an area of a village that was caught in the middle of very heavy and continuous crossfire and we evacuated three families who had been stuck in their homes for months. After things calmed down, we managed to return the families to their village from Beirut, where they had sought refuge. The reaction of the other villagers when they saw the members of the three families will stay with me forever. They were convinced that these families were among the dead and that they were seeing ghosts, so they ran away. They simply could not believe that anyone could have possibly survived such a long and violent siege.” Janvier De Riedmatten, ICRC delegate.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/Bazzuri

1978. The ICRC’s ‘Donkey Operation,’ transporting food on donkeys to areas across south Lebanon.

“I saw how the donkey moved away from the mine planted by a human being to kill another human being. On that day, I learned to trust animals; however I never lost my faith in humans and humanity. After every emergency operation, strangers who did not know my religion or nationality would hug and kiss me. They only knew that I carry this emblem, which stands for neutrality and impartiality, and for humanity. It taught me that nothing is impossible when helping another person in times of emergency.” Nayla Al Hachem, former ICRC staff member and former head of the Emergency Medical Services of the Lebanese Red Cross.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Chessex

1982. An ICRC delegate speaks with a 102-year-old beneficiary in Beirut.

“It is very difficult to summarize 35 years in a few sentences, but I will try. The faces, smiles and tears of hundreds of families – I am grateful to them for allowing me to share their sadness and their fears. My career and my life could be thus summed up in one word: service.” Christine Rechdane, protection assistant with the ICRC.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Chessex

1982. A damaged cemetery in Beirut, Lebanon.

“Red Crescent Societies do not have archives of the war we experienced, so I will comment on this picture that reflects the Palestinian tragedy in general. I am a general physician who acquired surgical skills through practice. I have healed and treated many in Rashidiya camp, but I will never forgive myself for not being able to save the people closest to my heart, my brothers Sobhi and Omar.” Salah Al Ahmad, doctor with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/E. Winiger

1983. Before the evacuation by the ICRC of civilians from Deir el-Kamar to Beirut.

“I spent 12 years as a volunteer with the Lebanese Red Cross, during which I experienced the war through people’s eyes, and it haunts me still. I remember we were once in Deir Al Amar transferring civilians to Dekwaneh and an old man asked ‘how will you protect us without arms?’ I answered enthusiastically, ‘the emblem is our protector,’ to which he replied in a resigned tone, ‘even artillery couldn’t protect us in these circumstances.’ After we arrived safely in Beirut, he declared, “I guess the emblem really can protect us.’ That day I didn’t reply out of any real belief, but today I am sure that only the emblem can protect us in time of war.” Dimyanos Kattar, Former Lebanese Finance Minister.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/E. Winiger

1983. Destroyed neighbourhoods in Beirut, Lebanon.

“When war fails to steal the children’s happiness, you find them running towards their bikes at a time of truce to ride around their city. They do not care why their city is destroyed, they only want the truce to last a while longer so the fun won't end. Beirut was not destroyed in 2008, but it was empty. I would wait for rounds of violence to stop before going out to regain some of my life. But that didn’t happen. In that mini-war, my friends took to the front lines, fighting other Lebanese. This time, the war stole my friends; they became combatants.” Maytham Kassir, relative of a missing person and journalist with Al-Arabiya.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/S. Caccia

1984. The ICRC transfers the bodies of Lebanese soldiers in Beirut.

“You can read about wars and massacres, but reality is different; it is much harder. You get to a point where you cannot stop crying for people you do not know, people whose lives you do not know. The suffering cannot be explained and can only be understood by those who have been through it. War is an ugly thing. It still scares me to this day.” Imad Tabash, former ICRC staff member.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/A. Manoukian

1987. Evacuating civilians in Bourj Al Barajneh camp, Beirut.

“I volunteered with the Lebanese Red Cross when I was 17 years old. The day I applied, I had to lie about my age in order to be recruited as a volunteer during the war. I used to lie to my parents about my whereabouts to keep them from worrying. One of my most memorable moments was when I negotiated a ceasefire between armed groups and proceeded to move the dead and wounded for three hours straight. I never cried at the time of the incidents. But when I got home and thought of the things that I had seen, I wept. I am enraged when our ambulances and volunteers are targeted. I am at my happiest when I know that all of our volunteers have made it back safely to their centres. But my ultimate happiness is and will always be the moment I know that a life has been saved.” Georges Kettaneh, Secretary General of the Lebanese Red Cross.

ICRC Archives (ARR) / HASSAN, Ali

1987. The Lebanese Red Cross and the ICRC evacuate civilians from Chatila refugee camp in Beirut.

“My memory has become random and selective. I cannot summarize my 37 years of work with the ICRC. All of my memories are on paper, not in my mind. They are like flashing lights – some are bright, others are dark. Indeed, some are bright! It’s true that war is a painful time, but helping people whoever they may be and wherever they are is a bitter-sweet feeling.” Farouk Taleb, car pool manager at the ICRC.

© P. Baz

2006. Despair at the sight of the large-scale destruction of Beirut’s suburbs.

Ryad Dbouk, an ICRC field officer based in Tyre, south Lebanon, described the July 2006 conflict as “one of the most destructive and brutal of wars; all the infrastructure and electrical networks were targeted.” In this photo, an man screams his pain and despair at seeing what is left of his home and neighbourhood in the south of Beirut after the destructive air strikes.

© ICRC / B. Schaeffer / co-e-02053

2006. Repairing water networks following the end of the July 2006 war.

ICRC engineers, responding to the urgent need for water in south Lebanon, work with various authorities to repair damaged reservoirs and pipes and set up mobile tanks. Once repaired, the water networks would provide water to thousands of people through 160 km of pipes.

©Lebanese Red Cross Society / C. Souad

2012. Following an explosion in Beirut's Ashrafieh neighbourhood.

“They were very similar to me, around the same age. They had wedding rings on their fingers and pictures of their children in their wallets. Someone was waiting for them at home. They belong in the arms of their loved ones, not there where I found them, their remains scattered after an explosion that made no sense.” Wassim Rida, Lebanese Red Cross volunteer.

©Lebanese Red Cross Society/H. Baydoun

2012. A Lebanese Red Cross volunteer evacuates a little girl during one of several rounds of violence that hit Lebanon’s northern city, Tripoli.

When asked about his journey with the Lebanese Red Cross after nine years of voluntary service, Nayef takes from his wallet an old, folded page from the nespaper Assafir. The picture accompanying the news article shows him with a little girl in his arms. It looks like he is flying. His feet are not touching the ground. He says: “The little girl had wet herself from fear. She wasn’t the only one who was scared, I was scared too. We all are when we’re on duty. Fear is our most important defence mechanism. At second glance, it seems that I’m running with extreme speed, as if I’m floating between the army and combatants, but today when I look back at this picture and what happened, I am floating with happiness because I saved that child.” Nayef Chehade, Lebanese Red Cross volunteer and head of the Lebanese Red Cross Tripoli centre.

©ICRC/M. Tahtah

2014 A Syrian man receives treatment at the ICRC’s WTTC hospital in Tripoli.

Mohammad, wounded by shelling in Syria, holds up two fingers. For a brief moment, you think he might be making the victory sign, but Mohammad is talking about his two children, left under the rubble of his home in Syria, along with his spectacles. But he does not need his glasses to see that victims are victims, regardless of victory or loss during war.

These photos are part of an audiovisual exhibition entitled "Echoes," organized by the Lebanese Red Cross and the ICRC to commemorate 40 years since the Lebanese war and 40 years of humanitarian action. The exhibition will run from 16 to 26 April in Villa Paradiso, Gemmayzeh, Beirut.

  • Special photo exhibition marks key anniversary, News release
  • Overview of ICRC activities in Lebanon since 1967

  • Video : The voices behind the pictures

Related articles

Photo gallery
05-01-2021

Thailand: Inspiring art pieces featured in exhibition reflect ICRC, IFRC and TRCS work

Photo gallery
29-12-2020

2020: A year in pictures

Photo gallery
31-07-2020

India: Supporting communities affected by floods amidst COVID-19 pandemic

More photo galleries

Topic-dedicated ICRC websites

Explore our blogs, apps, reviews and other resources dedicated to humanitarian impact, insight, law and policy.

ICRC Websites

Direct access

  • Find help
  • Donate
  • Events
  • Contact us
  • Report an incident of misconduct
  • Work with us
  • FAQ

Newsletter

Fields marked with * are required
To learn how we process your data, visit our Privacy Notice.
  • Accessibility
  • Copyright
  • Privacy policy
  • Tax deduction
  • Privacy Settings
  • Community guidelines

Terms and conditions - ICRC ©2025 - All right reserved