Hezbollah has slammed the BBC after one if its correspondents crossed into Lebanese territory accompanied by Israeli forces, while Beirut warned Western media outlets against legitimising Israel's breach of Lebanese sovereignty.
Since the start of October, the Israeli military crossed the Blue Line into south Lebanon and began what it called "limited operations," claiming it sought to clear the border region of Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure.
The invasion began only days after Israel’s year-long fighting with Hezbollah spiralled into a full-blown war, which has killed thousands of civilians in Lebanon.
But Israeli troops have faced fierce resistance from Hezbollah fighters, who have prevented soldiers from advancing deeper into Lebanese territory.
The Israeli army recently held a press tour, taking journalists to what it claimed were three "liberated" Hezbollah sites, including two tunnels, only a few hundred meters away from the frontier.
The tour reportedly lasted about 90 minutes. Soldiers told the media team that they were near the town of Naqoura very close to the border.
They reportedly declined to specify how deep they were inside Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah on Monday lambasted the British state broadcaster.
"The BBC – in all its platforms and language [services] – was not content with blindly siding with murderers and criminals and justifying Zionist barbarism against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, but it also impudently sent a press team to one of the southern villages, accompanied by the [Israeli] occupation army," the group said in a statement.
Hezbollah, which is gradually regrouping after Israel assassinated its secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah in a massive airstrike south of Beirut last month, said BBC’s move violated the sovereignty of Lebanon and called on the Lebanese government to take action.
The group’s "media relations [team] condemns this completely unjustified and unacceptable move and calls on the Ministry of Information, the National Media Council, and the relevant judicial and security agencies to take the necessary legal measures against the BBC and its work teams in Lebanon and to protest to the channel and its representative legal authorities."
"The unions of journalists, editors, and free media around the world demand that this move be condemned."
In a three-and-a-half-minute clip shared on the BBC website, reporter Lucy Williams shared moments on the ground when her and her team were driven to an unnamed south Lebanese village currently witnessing Israeli military operations.
She said they were told that the area was still not completely ridden of Hezbollah’s fighters, and the military had asked them not to reveal where the location was for military reasons.
'Participants in the conflict'
The BBC, like some other British and Western media news outlets, have repeatedly come under fire for their reporting on the Gaza war, and now on Lebanon, often seen as bias and siding with the Israeli narrative.
Lebanon’s caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari has warned leading international media outlets against accompanying Israeli forces during their incursions into Lebanese territory.
He stressed that these practices constitute a violation of international laws and legitimise Israel’s hostilities towards Lebanon.
The minister made the warning in a letter sent to a number of institutions, including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, expressing the government’s deep concern about the presence of Western journalists alongside the Israeli army.
While expressing freedom of the press, Makari said these freedoms must operate within the limits of the law and respect for territorial integrity.
He noted several alleged violations committed by the press being in Lebanon with invading forces – including the code of ethics for journalists.
Risk to life
Fierce clashes have raged between Hezbollah fighters and invading Israeli troops since early October, sometimes face-to-face.
The presence of the BBC crew with Israeli troops puts into question the press team’s safety.
Entering Lebanon assisted by the Israeli army makes these journalists indirect participants in the conflict, Makari’s letter said, reiterating that it may help in legitimising Israel’s aggression and undermine their safety.
Lebanese journalist and press advocate Elsy Moufarrej echoed the information minister's remarks that the press tour undoubtedly did violate journalism ethics and standards, as they were accompanied by a military committing acts of aggression and occupying another country.
"There are journalists who are giving a sort of legitimacy for this occupation" failing to show both sides in the war.with their coverage, she told The New Arab.
Moufarrej blamed the BBC and other institutions for allowing their correspondents to join the Israeli army in their south Lebanon tour, noting that this was only contributing to the atmosphere of hate and incitement against Western media for their stances.
"These institutions were wrong for sending [journalist] teams with the Israeli army, who is entering [Lebanon] as an occupier, and did not take into account the reactions among the public," she told TNA.
"We see an increase in hate speech and incitement against media and journalists. What we care about is helping these journalists convey the Lebanese narrative against the misleading Israeli narrative."