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Three journalists have been killed in an Israeli air strike as they slept in a residential compound housing media staff in southern Lebanon within the early hours of Friday, an assault condemned as a struggle crime by the Lebanese authorities.
These killed embody cameraman Ghassan Najjar and broadcast engineer Mohammad Reda, who labored for Al Mayadeen, a pro-Hizbollah and pro-Iran Lebanese TV channel, the community stated. Hizbollah’s Al Manar TV stated its digicam operator Wissam Qassim was additionally killed within the air strike.
Native media broadcast dwell from the scene in Hasbaya, exhibiting a number of bungalows lowered to rubble, with a number of vehicles visibly marked “PRESS” crumpled amongst them.
The assault is the newest indication that Israel has widened the scope of its targets in Lebanon past Hizbollah army infrastructure, placing rescue staff, monetary establishments and journalists in addition to native authorities buildings.
Israel stepped up its offensive in opposition to Hizbollah in September, initially saying its aim was to push the group again from the Lebanese border to make sure that about 60,000 folks compelled from their properties in northern Israel by rocket fireplace would be capable of return. However after killing a lot of Hizbollah’s management, Israel seems to have expanded its objectives, launching air strikes throughout the nation and invading the south.
Hasbaya, an space of blended religions, had largely been spared from Israeli air strikes. Lots of the journalists protecting the preventing had moved from the close by city of Marjayoun, which has been focused by Israeli struggle planes in latest weeks.
Three different folks have been additionally wounded within the assault, Lebanon’s well being ministry stated.
“The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists to relaxation to betray them,” stated Ziad Makary, Lebanon’s minister of data.
“It is a struggle crime,” he stated, including that there have been 18 journalists staying on the compound from seven totally different retailers. They embody Lebanese stations in addition to Sky Information Arabia and Al Jazeera.
“The occupation’s [Israel’s] focusing on of the journalists’ residence was deliberate,” Ghassan bin Jiddo, director of Al Mayadeen, stated on the channel’s X account. “We maintain the occupation totally liable for this struggle crime.”
There was no instant remark from Israel.
The strike got here as Lebanese authorities reported one other 24 hours of intense air strikes and shelling throughout the nation, which killed 19 folks over 24 hours and raised the demise toll to almost 2,600 since October 2023 — nearly all of these prior to now 4 weeks. The preventing has additionally displaced greater than 1mn, triggering a humanitarian disaster.
The Israel Protection Forces issued evacuation orders for a number of areas in south Beirut and stated it struck about “200 terror targets” in southern Lebanon over the previous day, killing an area commander of Hizbollah’s elite Radwan drive.
Ten Israeli troopers have been additionally killed throughout the preventing in southern Lebanon, Israel stated, bringing the toll on the Israeli facet to 27 deaths because the IDF invasion of its northern neighbour. Greater than 80 Israeli troopers and civilians have been killed over the previous yr in northern Israel and throughout the floor incursion into south Lebanon.
Israel has been criticised for placing hospitals, faculties and Lebanese military troopers who aren’t occasion to the battle, in addition to UN peacekeepers. But it surely says its assaults are focusing on Hizbollah militants and army infrastructure, and accuses them of utilizing civilians as human shields.
On Thursday, an Israeli air strike killed three Lebanese troopers as they tried to evacuate wounded folks from the border village of Yater, the military stated. Israel didn’t touch upon the assault.
Friday’s assault got here a day after an Israeli strike hit one in every of Al Mayadeen’s workplaces, situated in a six-storey residential constructing in southern Beirut. One individual was killed and 5 have been wounded in that strike, Lebanon’s well being ministry stated.
5 journalists have been killed prior to now yr of preventing in Lebanon, together with two of Al Mayadeen’s journalists who have been killed in southern Lebanon in November.
The Committee to Shield Journalists stated at the very least 128 journalists and media staff have been killed because the begin of the struggle in Gaza, most of them Palestinian, making it the deadliest interval for journalists because the CPJ started gathering information in 1992.
Extra reporting from Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv
