Lebanon youth international Céline Haidar in induced coma after airstrike

The Lebanon youth international Céline Haidar is still in an induced coma, four days after being struck by shrapnel in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.

The 19-year-old, the latest football player to be impacted by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and now Lebanon, was hit in Chiyah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

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An update put out by her team, Beirut Football Academy (BFA), on Tuesday said: “As stated by her doctors to our team, currently, Céline’s condition is stable, and the intracranial bleeding is under control.”

Social media posts about the footballer’s plight have demanded that Fifa and Uefa do more to speak up for Lebanese and Palestinian players injured or killed in the Gaza war and Lebanon and for the governing bodies to suspend Israel from participation in international football.

Fifa and Uefa have not yet responded to requests for comment on the calls for them to take action. However, Fifa previously said: “The ongoing violence in the region confirms that, above all considerations, and as stated at the 74th Fifa Congress, we need peace. As we remain extremely shocked by what is happening, and our thoughts are with those who are suffering, we urge all parties to restore peace to the region with immediate effect.”

Haidar, who has represented Lebanon’s Under-20 women’s national team numerous times, including winning the West Asian Championship twice, “sustained a head injury caused by shrapnel from a missile”, the Lebanese FA said.

“She underwent surgery on the same day, during which doctors successfully stopped the bleeding and stabilised her condition. She was placed under close observation. However, her condition deteriorated today, and the bleeding resumed, leaving her in a coma.”

Haidar, who was described in an interview with her former coach, Joanna Hamzeh, as one of the “smartest players”, was first taken to Saint-Georges hospital in Hadath before being transferred to Saint-George hospital in Achrafieh, where she remains in intensive care.

Her former teammate, the journalist Assile Toufaily, said that “the whole women’s football community in Lebanon is in disbelief” and expressed her frustration at the lack of a reaction from the wider women’s football community. “I don’t expect male footballers to have any sort of reaction. I had hoped that it was different for female footballers,” she said. “The community is different, players are often more vocal about such issues, yet their silence is very loud.

“Céline is like any other young footballer who wants to dream big and play the sport she loves. She has faced several barriers, she won multiple trophies … I’m waiting for her, we’re all waiting for her.”

A statement posted to the BFA’s official Instagram account, said: “We are sending all our love and prayers to Céline Haidar from the BFA Women’s team. In such challenging times, we are deeply saddened to see her go through this tough moment. Céline, you are strong, and we know you’ll come back even stronger.”

Across the weekend the Israeli Defence Force’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, announced evacuation orders in several areas in the southern suburbs of the capital city, telling those nearby they must evacuate and keep a distance of at least 500m from the targeted buildings.

On Sunday he said: “Over the past week, the air force attacked about 50 terrorist targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the terrorist Hezbollah, which continues to use the area to plot terrorist attacks against the State of Israel.”

The AFP reported that Lebanon’s National News Agency said that one raid “completely destroyed a 12-storey residential building near the Mar Mikhael church” in Chiyah, while a “residential complex” in Haret Hreik and a site close to Saint-Georges hospital were also among the buildings hit.