An Israeli airstrike killed at least three journalists as they slept in their homes in southern Lebanon, in what media reports said was a direct hit in an area far from the ongoing conflict between the Israeli army and the Hezbollah.
The airstrike hit a compound in Hasbaiyya housing several journalists around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) Friday, killing two cameramen and a technician.
“This is a very serious incident. Israel gave no warning,” said Tel Aviv Tribune’s Imran Khan, reporting from this southern Lebanese town. “Hasbaiyya is not under any evacuation orders and, in fact, the situation is relatively calm. »
The victims were identified as cameraman Ghassan Najjar and engineer Mohamed Reda who worked for Al Mayadeen, the pan-Arab television channel said. Al-Manar TV, affiliated with Hezbollah, said its cameraman Wissam Qassim was also killed.
Journalists present at the scene said the bungalow where the men were sleeping was directly targeted.
Local news channel Al Jadeed broadcast images showing collapsed buildings and cars marked “press” covered in dust and rubble.
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary called the attack a “war crime.”
“This is an assassination, after surveillance and monitoring, with premeditation and planning, because 18 journalists representing seven media institutions were present on site,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
Ghassan bin Jiddo, director of Al Mayadeen, said on X that Israel “deliberately targeted the journalists’ residence and that journalists from other Arab channels were injured.”
“We hold the occupation fully responsible for this war crime, in which teams of journalists, including Al Mayadeen’s team, were targeted. »
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson condemned what he called “another case of atrocious war crimes committed by Israel deliberately targeting journalists.”
Esmail Baghaei wrote in an article on
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
“Message to journalists”
The attack comes a day after an Israeli strike on an office used by Al Mayadeen in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed one person and injured five others.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Khan said: “It doesn’t matter whether you like this news agency or not. If you are a democracy, freedom of expression is a fundamental value.
He added that the attack was “a deliberate message to all journalists” who would now leave the area.
“Obviously, they are trying to blind the world to what is happening in southern Lebanon by targeting journalists,” Khan said of the Israeli military.
In November, two journalists from Al Mayadeen television were killed in a drone strike, which the channel said was deliberate.
A month earlier, Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon killed Issam Abdallah, a Reuters videographer, and injured other journalists from the AFP news agency and Tel Aviv Tribune.
Journalists faced unprecedented danger while covering the Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Frank Smyth, founder of the organization Global Journalist Security, told Tel Aviv Tribune that more journalists have been killed in the Palestinian enclave in the past year than in any other conflict in the world, with the majority being journalists. local covering their own communities.
Smyth pointed out that there is evidence that Israeli forces are directly targeting journalists, while indiscriminate bombing has also killed many media workers.
Israeli authorities have repeatedly killed and threatened Tel Aviv Tribune journalists in Gaza, whom they accuse of being affiliated with Hamas. The network has denied and condemned these claims.