Israa Al Seblani (born 1991) is a Lebanese-American physician and endocrinologist. She is a survivor of the 2020 Beirut explosion that occurred on 4 August 2020. Later that month, a video went viral of Seblani having her bridal portraits taken when the explosion occurred.
Biography
Seblani interned at Hammoud Hospital University Medical Center in Sidon.[1]
Seblani met Ahmad Sbeih, a businessman who owns two clothing stores, in November 2016 at a Starbucks in Beirut, while she was visiting family.[3] She and her husband had been waiting three years to get married, due to protests in Lebanon, the COVID-19 pandemic, and since her husband had been unable to obtain an immigrant visa to leave Lebanon and come to the United States.[4] They had originally wanted to get married in the United States, but chose to have the wedding in Lebanon due to difficulty obtaining a visa for Sbeih.[5] Seblani has been pleading with federal government officials in the United States to speed up her husband's visa.[4] She returned to Lebanon in July 2020 for her wedding.[6]
On 4 August 2020, Seblani was posing for bridal portraits outside of the Le Grey Hotel in Saifi Village before her wedding.[3][7] During the photoshoot an explosion occurred at the Port of Beirut, less than a mile away from where Seblani was standing.[3][7][8] The explosion, caused by more than 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, killed at least 145 people and left over 5,000 people injured.[9][10][11][12] Her videographer, Mahmoud Nakib, captured the detonation taking place on camera.[13][2][14][15] Her fiancé, Ahmad Sbeih, had stepped away from the photoshoot to grab waters for her and the photographer.[4] Immediately after the blast, Sbeih ran to retrieve Seblani, taking shelter in a nearby restaurant.[4] The couple sustained no physical injuries from the explosion.[4] After calling her family, Seblani ran out to provide medical care to other victims of the blast.[4][16][17] They were married in a ceremony after the explosion.[9][18]
The video of Seblani's photography session during which the explosion occurred became a viral video on the internet.[19][20][21]
Seblani has stated that she loves Lebanon, but feels that after the explosion, living there is not an option due to safety concerns.[16][22][9] She returned to the United States in September 2020.[23] After the explosion, Seblani and her husband have received support in the immigration process from U.S. Senator Gary Peters and U.S. Congresswoman Haley Stevens.[23]
She is a dual citizen of the United States and Lebanon.[24][25]