Israel Finally Lifts Sea Blockade Spelling Relief for Beirut Hospital

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September 08, 2006 10:10 AM

Israel's lift of the sea blockade of Lebanon is good news for Beirut's American University Hospital, which stared down a fuel shortage that threatened to bring operations to a halt. The blockade began with the July 12 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and was aimed at keeping arms and fuel from the Shiite militia group.

Owners of the oil tanker Afrodite, which sat in the Eastern Mediterranean waiting to bring its much-needed fuel to the Port of Beirut, confirmed to ABC News that the ship has made it to Lebanon. The Blotter has been reporting on the daily struggles of Afrodite's attempt to resupply Beirut's hospital over the last few weeks.

"Afrodite finally got permission to discharge at Tripoli in northern Lebanon a week after ceasefire," Tsakos Energy Navigation CFO Paul Durham told ABC News. The Afrodite's sister-ship, the Ariadne, was also able to access Beirut once a ceasefire was declared. "Both vessels discharged safely and are now heading elsewhere," Durham said.   

Operations at the hospital are returning to normal and almost all the American University Medical School students are back on campus -- only three opted to study abroad for the academic year that followed this summer's conflict.

After the ceasefire, American University Hospital saw an influx of patients wounded by war, some of them transferred from southern Lebanon where firefights were more common and more concentrated. "We saw a rise in patients just after the cessation of hostilities, but it's leveling off now," Medical School Dean Nadim Cortas said.

The university received financial donations to help deal with the influx of patients, many of whom would presumably lack the means to pay for their own care.

Even as the hospital operates at full steam, the staff remains demoralized by the setbacks of the past two months. Among those challenges is making sure medical supplies remain stocked and doctors have the gasoline they need for the commute to work. "There's a feeling that there are difficult days ahead before we normalize for good," Cortas said. 

Are hospital officials worried that the ceasefire might be broken?  "We're hoping that this is a remote possibility, that there will be no need for the hostilities to resume," American University's George Tomey told ABC News. Tomey does confirm that they have a contingency plan ready in case that hope falls through.