3 journalists killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon; new 'massacre' reported in Gaza
Three journalists were killed in a fresh Israeli strike as they were sleeping in a guesthouse in Lebanon’s southern Hasbaiyya area, on Friday morning
Three journalists were killed in a fresh Israeli strike as they were sleeping in a guesthouse in Lebanon’s southern Hasbaiyya area, on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Israel blew up dozen residential buildings in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp in an attack described as a “major massacre”. Gaza’s civil defence has warned of many casualties.
War crime
According to Lebanese media, the three journalists were cameraman Ghassan Najjar and engineer Mohamed Reda who worked for pro-Iranian news outlet Al-Mayadeen and one cameraman who worked for Hezbollah's Al-Manar. According to journalists, the bungalow where the men were sleeping was deliberately targeted.
"The occupation's targeting of the journalists' residence was deliberate, and there are injured journalists from other Arab channels," said Ghassan bin Jiddo, Al-Mayadeen’s director on the channel's X account.
Further, he added that they hold the occupation fully responsible for this “war crime”, in which journalist crews, including the Al-Mayadeen team, were targeted. Israel has not commented on the death of the journalists.
Also read: Drone fired from Lebanon explodes near Netanyahu’s home
Death toll so far in Lebanon, Gaza
These killings come on the back of an Israeli strike on an office used by Al-Mayadeen in Beirut’s southern suburbs. One person was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded in that strike, said the Lebanese health ministry.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 19 people across Lebanon over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll since the start of the war in October 2023 to 2,593.
In Gaza, at least 42,847 people have been killed and 100,544 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.
Meanwhile, 28 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the Gaza war, making it the deadliest period for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began gathering data in 1992. Mostly Palestinian media workers, 123 Palestinian, two Israeli, and three Lebanese have been killed so far.
At least five journalists have been killed over the past year of conflict in Lebanon, including a Reuters visuals journalist.
Also read: Israel: 2 dead in rocket attack; Netanyahu warns Lebanon of 'destruction like Gaza'
Ceasefire talks
On the subject of ceasefire talks, even as US warned Israel not to conduct a "protracted campaign against the Iran-backed Lebanese group:, US and Israeli negotiators will gather in Doha to prepare for renewed talks on a Gaza ceasefire deal, which would also entail release of hostages in the Palestinian enclave, Qatar and Washington said.
But senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan has reiterated that there is no change in the group’s position that captives will only be freed if Israel ends its war on the Palestinian enclave.
