Lebanon: three journalists killed in Israeli strike

Three journalists were killed by an Israeli strike carried out at dawn at a guesthouse in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Lebanese media reported.

“Cameraman Ghassan Najjar and technician Mohamed Reda, who worked for the Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen, as well as a cameraman from the Hezbollah TV channel Al-Manar, were killed in the raid,” according to reports.

“A building in which employees of these channels were sleeping had been directly targeted,” Journalists on the scene reported.

The director of Al-Mayadeen, Ghassan Ben Jeddou, said in a message posted on the channel’s X account that ”the occupation deliberately targeted the journalists’ residence, and journalists from other Arab channels were injured”.

”We hold the occupation fully responsible for this war crime”, he wrote.

“The previous day, Al-Mayadeen’s office in the southern suburbs of Beirut was hit by an Israeli strike that left one dead and five wounded, including a child,” according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Since the start of the Gaza war and up to October 24, 2024, at least 128 journalists and employees of media groups have been killed, according to a preliminary survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).