A dog saved Houssein Hamze from a bomb. When war returned, he stayed to care for Lebanon’s animals
Alarmed, he got up to check on the dog – his first rescue pet. Moments later, a bomb dropped next to his home and a piece of shrapnel landed right where he had been sleeping.“I swear to God, he really saved me from death. Animals always possess a sixth sense we don’t have,” Hamze said.Twenty years and two wars later, the 57-year-old is still repaying his debt to the dog that saved his life.Soon after his near-death experience, Hamze founded the Mashala shelter in the village of Zefta, south Lebanon, to take care of animals in the area.
- ▪Alarmed, he got up to check on the dog – his first rescue pet.
- ▪Moments later, a bomb dropped next to his home and a piece of shrapnel landed right where he had been sleeping.“I swear to God, he really saved me from death.
- ▪Animals always possess a sixth sense we don’t have,” Hamze said.Twenty years and two wars later, the 57-year-old is still repaying his debt to the dog that saved his life.Soon after his near-death experience, Hamze founded the Mashala shelt
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| Original publisher | World news | The Guardian |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/28/man-who-stayed-to-save-lebanon-wartime-animals-mashala-shelter |
| Publication time | Tue, 28 Jul 2026 04:00:28 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-28T04:12:05.832Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-28T04:12:05.832Z |
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| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | tAJ2c1SfHD4c · 1 stories |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Houssein Hamze stayed to take care of animals during the 2026 Israel-Hezbollah war, despite the constant risk of death from Israeli drone and airstrikes.In normal times the Mashala shelter founder takes in strays, but in wartime, he is the only lifeline for animals in the areaBy William Christou in Zefta; photographs by Oliver MarsdenTue 28 Jul 2026 00.00 EDTLast modified on Tue 28 Jul 2026 00.10 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleDuring Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah, Houssein Hamze woke up one night to the sound of barking. Alarmed, he got up to check on the dog – his first rescue pet. Moments later, a bomb dropped next to his home and a piece of shrapnel landed right where he had been sleeping.“I swear to God, he really saved me from death.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at World news | The Guardian.
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