At the invitation of the Presidency of the Lebanese University, the Executive Committee of the League of Full-Time Professors, the Council of Delegates, and the University Staff Association, a stand was organized at the Central Administration Building – Museum to condemn and denounce the Israeli attack that targeted Rafik Hariri University Campus – Hadath, resulting in the martyrdom of Dr. Hussein Bazzi, Dean of the Faculty of Science – Branch 1, and Dr. Mortada Srour while they were performing their academic duties.

The solidarity stand was attended by President Bassam Badran, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Nizar Hani, a delegation from the French Institute for the Near East (IFPO), former Minister of Health, Dr. Hamad Hassan , MPs Bilal Al-Hashimi, Hassan Murad, and Ashraf Baydoun, the Director General of the Ministry of Information, Dr. Hassan Falha, the President of the League of Full-Time University Professors, Dr. Yahya Al Rabih, the President of the League’s Council of Delegates, Dr. Daniel Al-Katrib, as well as deans and directors of faculties and branches, the families of the martyred professors, and a crowd of professors and students.

Doaa Hassoun, a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of University Employees, delivered a speech in which she affirmed that the Lebanese University will remain unbroken and will continue to fulfill its mission despite the forces of destruction.

Dr. Daniel Al-Qatrib, Chairman of the Council of Representatives of the League of Full-Time Professors, delivered a speech in which he praised the virtues of the two martyrs, Dr. Bazzi and Dr. Srour, emphasizing that the university continues to operate based on two fundamental pillars: its administration, led by Dr. Bassam Badran, and the university professors who believe in it.

Dr. Yahya al-Rabih, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the League of Full-Time University Professors, stated that the blatant and treacherous Israeli attack targeting Rafik Hariri University Campus in Hadath was not merely an attack on buildings or facilities, but an attack on the mission of science and knowledge and on the values of education and humanity that we all uphold.

Dr. Ali Kanj, Dean of the Faculty of Science, delivered a speech in which he praised the integrity of the faculty's martyrs, Dr. Bazzi and Dr. Srour, stating that their targeting on campus and in front of the faculty where they had served with dedication was not merely a tragic incident, but a flagrant attack on the sanctity of knowledge and the sanctity of academic institutions.

President Bassam Badran delivered a speech saying:

"We gather today on the campus of the Lebanese University, not merely to mourn our martyrs, but to affirm that the Lebanese University, with its national and practical legacy, will remain steadfast in the face of any attack targeting it, for it is the unifying national identity rooted in the conscience of Lebanon. It is the mother who embraces her children from all over Lebanon and offers them a future, and an attack against it is an attempt to assassinate the mother, but the mother does not die, for she lives in the hearts of her children, in every lesson, in every book, and in every dream.

Our colleagues Dr. Hussein Bazzi and Dr. Mortada Surur were targeted on the university campus while performing their academic duties in preparation for the launch of remote learning, just as our colleague Dr. Mariam Raad was targeted at her home. In this criminal act, the enemy thought it could strike at the heart of the university and extinguish the light of knowledge, but our response today to these sinful attacks is that the entire university is a single heart beating with knowledge, dignity, and freedom.

The blood of our martyrs is the most eloquent message, and the Lebanese University will remain a wall of light that neither bombs can destroy nor fires extinguish, and whose roots are too deep to be uprooted and too strong to be broken.

On this occasion of solidarity, I call upon you to transform our grief into strength, and our tears into a new promise—a promise that the Lebanese University will remain a beacon of knowledge, a haven for the homeland, and a home for every student who dreams of a better future.

We stand here today, not to mourn, reminisce, or condemn, but to declare that the Lebanese University is the heart of Lebanon, and that this heart will continue to beat with life no matter how hard they try to stop it.

May God have mercy on our martyrs and the martyrs of the nation, and may God protect our university and protect Lebanon, and we will remain together—faculty, students, staff, and friends of the university—to protect our university and raise its banner high above all challenges, and let us make the blood of our colleagues an unbreakable covenant—a covenant of knowledge, a covenant of freedom, a covenant of the homeland, a covenant of the free human being".

President Badran addressed the families of the martyrs with compassion, joy, and resolve, saying:

The Lebanese University is your extended family, and we all share your pain and loss and bear with you the burden of their absence.

The martyrs were symbols of knowledge, sacrifice, and loyalty. May God grant them His vast mercy, and may he grant you patience and solace".

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