An airstrike by the Israeli military has killed three television journalists, Lebanon’s state news said today Friday.
The Israeli army did not issue a warning before the strike, which left the scene scattered with rubble, according to the news outlet.
The Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV reported that two of its journalists were killed in the Israeli airstrike, while Al-Manar TV, affiliated with Hezbollah, confirmed the death of its camera operator. The strike occurred in Lebanon’s Hasbaya region, an area that had largely been spared from the border conflict until now.
According to news agency AFP, the hotel was providing accommodation for 18 media staff from at least seven networks including Al Jazeera, MTV, and Sky News. The agency reported Lebanese Information Minister Zian Makary, saying Israel “intentionally targeted” journalists in the strike, which he considers a “war crime.”
Muhammad Farhat, a reporter with the Lebanese outlet Al-Jadeed, told Reuters: “We heard the airplane flying very low—that’s what woke us up—and then we heard the two missiles.”
He said several bungalows had been damaged. “We had been reporting from there for about a month without anything happening. I don’t even know how I climbed out from under the rubble,” Farhat said.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on the strikes.
Several journalists have lost their lives since a near-daily exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023. The ongoing violence has posed increasing risks for media personnel covering the escalating conflict in the region.
