For over a year now, hospitals in northern Israel have been operating partly in underground bunkers to protect themselves from Hezbollah attacks. This is the case of the hospitals in Nahariya, Safed and Haifa.
While staff and patients are celebrating the return, medical centre directors are still prepared to seek shelter again if necessary.
The return became possible on December 8, 11 days after a temporary 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.
Across the region, medical centres have fortified shelters, where they store food and supplies in case of communication and infrastructure cuts. In total, hospitals in the north treated 1.578 civilians and 3.391 soldiers.