Three journalists killed in their south Lebanon residence in 'deliberate Israeli strike'

Three journalists were killed when their residence in southern Lebanon was hit in an Israeli strike Friday morning, as another border crossing with Syria was also shut off in a separate attack.

Al-Mayadeen, a Beirut-based pan-Arab broadcaster, said its cameraman Ghassan Najjar and technician Mohammad Reda were killed in what it described as a "deliberate strike on a journalists' residence" in Hasbaya.

Lebanese television station Al-Manar said its cameraman Wissam Qassem was also killed in the strike. Three others were injured in the attack.

More than a dozen journalists from various television stations were staying at the rented chalet resort in the hilly town. Destruction and mangled cars could be seen at the site, and helmets and vests with 'PRESS' written on them.

Speaking from outside the Hasbaya Hospital where the bodies of the three journalists were taken, Al-Araby TV reporter Ramez Al-Qadi said the strike happened in the early hours of Friday as the journalists were asleep, saying the targeted residence was nowhere near any military activity.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London on Friday, denounced the attack and said: "Israel’s goal is to intimidate the media to cover up the crimes it is committing."

Caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari called the attack "premediated and deliberate" and said the Israeli military betrayed the journalists in their sleep.

At least a dozen media workers have been killed since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on 8 October 2023.

The cross-border hostilities began when the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group started what it calls a "support front" for Gaza, trading fire with the Israeli army which developed into a full-blown war last month.

Al-Mayadeen had already lost two of its members after its reporter Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih al-Maamari were killed in an Israeli strike in November last year.

Before that on 13 October, Reuters photojournalist Issam Abdallah was killed as he stood with other reporters covering the cross-border shelling.

Other journalists include Hadi Sayyed, Kamel Karaki, Hussein Safa, Mohammad Ghadboun, Ali Yassine, Mhammad Bitar.

'Direct targets'

Lebanon’s Syndicate of Editors, the Lebanese Audio-Visual Syndicate, and dozens of other press freedom groups, politicians, and other officials condemned the strike.

Spokesperson at Skeyes Media Center for Media and Cultural Freedom in Lebanon, Jad Shahrour, said it has become clear that journalists are direct targets.

"It’s clear that there is a direct attack on journalists. There is no consideration for international humanitarian law, and what happened today was not the first of its kind," he told The New Arab, calling the attack a war crime.

He said 12 journalists have so far been killed and more than 17 violations were recorded in Lebanon since fighting began between Hezbollah and Israel last year.

Shahrour said journalists are being attacked even when they are supposedly in safe zones agreed on by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.

"It’s clear Israel wants to silence the media to stop it from covering its crimes, just like what we saw happen in Gaza. There has been an unprecedented attack on Arab media since last year," he said.

"In just a few days we will mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, and we still have not been able to create any progress" on this front, Shahrour told TNA.

He strongly criticised the Lebanese government's refusal earlier this year to grant the International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes that occurred on its soil.

There was speculation that the ICC could accuse Hezbollah – a proscribed terrorist organisation in many Western states – of war crimes too.

Shahrour agreed with the notion that this was probably why Beirut reversed its decision to go to the court.

"Nothing is deterring Israel from ending its war crimes, not international law, nor the [UN] Security Council. The international community doesn’t seem to have anything to pressure [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu with," he said to TNA.

"Why would he stop if there’s no deterrent?"

Border crossings cut off

Two roads connecting Lebanon to Syria were also bombed early Friday morning.

The route linking Lebanon’s Masnaa crossing to Jdaidet Yabous on the other side of the border was struck, creating a massive crater in the road. It's the third time the main highway connecting the two countries has been targeted.

This hasn’t stopped people from fleeing on foot towards Syria, however. Around 300,000 Syrians who had been residing in Lebanon have moved back to their country and thousands of Lebanese have also headed to the neighbouring war-torn nation in the past month.

Another crossing between Lebanon’s Al-Qaa and Syria’s Jusiyah was also put out of service after Israel bombed a bridge inside Syrian territory, hundreds of metres from Syrian border guards, according to Lebanon’s caretaker Transport Minister Ali Hamieh.

Al-Qaa sits right at the Syrian border in the northernmost part of the Beqaa region, which along with southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs has been heavily hit following Israeli strikes.

Some analysts believe the repeated strikes on border crossings aim to cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes via Syria.

Syria, still reeling from more than 13 years of conflict, has seen hundreds of Israeli airstrikes since 2011 which have usually targeted the regime soldiers, Hezbollah, Iranian or Iran-backed militants, and have also killed civilians.

Thursday night saw more heavy strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The region, locally known as 'Dahiyeh', has been bombarded nearly every night since the escalation began last month.

The latest wave of attacks saw strikes on Haret Hreik, Hadath, and Choueifat.