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 Saïda. In 2013 immigrated to the United States, moving to Michigan City, Indiana then moved to

Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of Me ...

to complete a residency in

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

at a hospital in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. Seblani met Ahmad Sbeih, a businessman who owns two clothing stores, in November 2016 at a Starbucks in Beirut, while she was visiting family. She and her husband had been waiting three years to get married, due to protests in Lebanon, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, and since her husband had been unable to obtain an immigrant visa to leave Lebanon and come to the United States. 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. Seblani has been pleading with federal government officials in the United States to speed up her husband's visa. She returned to Lebanon in July 2020 for her wedding. On 4 August 2020, Seblani was posing for bridal portraits outside of Le Grey Hotel in

Saifi Village {{coord, 33, 53, 39.46, N, 35, 30, 29.57, E, type:landmark_scale:4000, display=title Saifi Village is a residential upscale neighbourhood in Beirut, Lebanon. Saifi Village is located at the southeastern periphery of Centre Ville. The village ...

before her wedding. During the photoshoot an explosion occurred at the Port of Beirut, less than a mile away from where Seblani was standing. The explosion, caused by more than 2,700 tonnes of

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...

, killed at least 145 people and left over 5,000 people injured. Her videographer, Mamoud Nakid, captured the detonation taking place on camera. Her fiancé, Ahmad Sbeih, had stepped away from the photoshoot to grab waters for her and the photographer. Immediately after the blast, Sbeih ran to retrieve Seblani, taking shelter in a nearby restaurant. The couple sustained no physical injuries from the explosion. After calling her family, Seblani ran out to provide medical care to other victims of the blast. They were married in a ceremony after the explosion. The video of Seblani's photography session during which the explosion occurred became a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

on the internet. Seblani has stated that she loves Lebanon, but feels that after the explosion, living there is not an option due to safety concerns. She returned to the United States in September 2020. After the explosion, Seblani and her husband have received support in the immigration process from U.S. Senator

Gary Peters Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representa ...

and U.S. Congresswoman

Haley Stevens Haley Maria Stevens (born June 24, 1983) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Stevens is the member–elect for the redrawn 11th district in the 2022 election, having ...

. She is a dual citizen of the United States and Lebanon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seblani, Israa Living people 1991 births 2020 Beirut explosion American endocrinologists Beirut Arab University alumni Lebanese emigrants to the United States Lebanese endocrinologists People from Baalbek Viral videos Women endocrinologists