By Three journalists were killed early Thursday when an Israeli airstrike hit a guesthouse compound in southeastern Lebanon known to house reporters, marking a significant escalation in media casualties as the conflict expands beyond Gaza.
The strike, occurring around 3:00 a.m. local time in Hasbaya, killed camera operator Ghassan Najjar and engineer Mohamed Reda from Al Mayadeen TV, and camera operator Wissam Qassem from Al-Manar TV. Three others were wounded in the attack, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
“All official parties were told that this house was being used as a stay-house for journalists. We coordinated with them all,” said an Al-Jadeed TV journalist during a dust-covered live broadcast from the scene. The compound housed more than a dozen journalists from at least seven media organizations, with vehicles clearly marked “press” in the courtyard.
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary condemned the attack as a “war crime,” stating Israel “waited for the journalists’ nighttime break to betray them in their sleep.” He noted eighteen journalists representing seven media institutions were present at the facility.
MTV Lebanon reporter Youmna Fawwaz, who survived the attack, told the BBC that journalists were awakened by the strike as ceilings collapsed around them. “The airstrike was carried out on purpose. Everyone knew we were there. All the cars were labelled as press and TV. There wasn’t even a warning given to us.”
The incident brings the death toll of journalists in Lebanon to eight since the conflict began, including Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah. The Israeli military, which has previously denied targeting journalists, has not yet commented on the strike.
Hasbaya, located five miles from the Israeli border and home to Muslim, Christian, and Druze communities, had previously seen attacks on its outskirts but this marked the first strike within the settlement itself. The attack comes amid intensifying Israeli operations in Lebanon, with authorities recording over 1,700 airstrikes across the country in the past three weeks.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports at least 123 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began, while two Israeli journalists have also died. The expanding conflict has claimed nearly 2,600 lives in Lebanon according to the country’s health ministry, with many deaths occurring since Israel’s escalation on September 23.
bbc.com
