Three journalists killed by Israeli attack on south Lebanon

Employees of several media outlets covering the war were staying at guesthouse in town of Hasbaya

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At least three media workers died and three were injured after Israeli troops bombed a residential cluster housing journalists in south Lebanon's Hasbaya, early on Friday, in an attack described by a Lebanese minister as a war crime.

Those killed were a cameraman and an engineer working for Lebanese news channel Al Mayadeen and a cameraman working for Al Manar, a TV station backed by Hezbollah.

Al Mayadeen named the cameraman as Ghassan Najjar and the engineer as Mohammed Rida, while Al Manar said its cameraman Wissam Qassim was also killed in the attack. Hasbaya, at the foot of Mount Hermon, is a base for many media outlets covering Israel's war on Hezbollah in the south. Although the town is in south-east Lebanon, it has been spared from the fighting thus far and Israel has not commented on why it launched the attacks.

The media workers killed were staying in a group of bungalows in Hasbaya. Videos from the scene showed heavily damaged bungalows, while vehicles clearly marked 'press' were also caught up in the attack.

Eighteen journalists from seven media organisations were staying at the site and were asleep at the time of the strike, Lebanon's Minister of Information Ziad Makary said. He described the attacks as premeditated and a “war crime”.

Israel was “scared” of reports from the Lebanese press, said Farhat Muhammad, a correspondent for Lebanese channel Al Jadeed, who was also staying at the guesthouse.

“They tried to strike us into silence,” he said on air after the attacks. “But we, like the people of Lebanon and the honourable people everywhere in this country, will not be silenced.”

The Samir Kassir Foundation's monitor, the SKeyes Centre for Media and Cultural Freedom, described the strike as “another war crime and a direct attack on journalists resting after a day of covering intense attacks”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said they were "outraged" by the attacks. "Deliberately targeting journalists is a war crime under international law," said CPJ Programme Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna.

"This attack must be independently investigated and the perpetrators must be held to account."

Earlier this week Israel attacked an office used by Al Mayadeen in south Lebanon which had already been evacuated. Two journalists from the channel were killed when Israel bombed their position last November.

Friday's attacks mark the deadliest day for the media in Lebanon since conflict broke out between Israel and Hezbollah more than a year ago.

Elsewhere, the Israeli military said on Friday that 10 soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon.

The attacks come more than a year after a cameraman from Reuters was killed and six other journalists injured by Israeli fire while covering cross-border shelling in south Lebanon. Human rights groups have called for the October 2023 attack that killed Issam Abdallah to be investigated as a war crime.

In Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed at least 128 journalists and media workers since Israel launched a military offensive in the Palestinian enclave on October 7 last year, according to the CPJ.

There was an uproar earlier this week after Israeli claimed that six journalists from Al Jazeera were current or former paid fighters for Palestinian militant groups. Al Jazeera said the accusations were “fabricated”.

Elsewhere, Israel continued its nightly bombardment of south Beirut with at least 13 attacks on various areas. The Israeli army issued a warning for residents to leave only moments before launching the attacks. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel resumed daily bombings of the Lebanese capital after a brief lull last week. Israel has ratcheted up its attacks on Lebanon In the past month, invading the country, destroying vast swathes of southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut despite international calls for a ceasefire.

The Lebanese government said Lebanon's two eastern border crossings with Syria are now shut after an Israeli strike early on Friday morning hit the Syrian side of the Qaa border crossing.

Strikes earlier this month put the main Masnaa crossing out of service, leaving Lebanon's northern border crossing as the only open route into Syria.

More than 2,500 people have been killed and 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging cross-border fire on October 8 last year.

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the country "is now facing a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions". She also noted the impact Israeli attacks have had on hospitals, journalists and the wider healthcare sector.

"No effort should be spared to shield hospitals, protected unequivocally under international humanitarian law, from harm," she said.

Ms Hennis-Plasschaert said that "with each day that passes, the deadly cycle of violence in Lebanon expands, leaving ever more devastation and suffering in its wake".

Mikati meets Blinken in London

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in London on Friday to discuss the continuing conflict.

Mr Blinken said there was a "sense of real urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution" in Lebanon so that people could "have the confidence" to return to their homes.

US officials have pushed for a deal based on UN Resolution 1701, which was agreed in 2006 to end the last war between Hezbollah and Israel but was never fully implemented. Among the conditions is that Hezbollah must move north of the Litani River, and Israel leave Lebanese territory.

Reports in Israeli media suggest Israel wants additional measures to be included in any deal, that would be in addition to 1701.

Mr Mikati said after meeting Mr Blinken that Lebanon was committed to implementing 1701 "without amendment".

"First, what is required is a real commitment from Israel to a ceasefire," he said.

"Israel is also violating international law by attacking civilians, journalists and medical staff".