An Israeli strike early on Friday morning killed at least three journalists as they slept in a guesthouse in Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, Lebanese media reported.
Those killed included 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, Al-Mayadeen reported.
Reporters at the scene said the bungalow where the men were sleeping was directly targeted.
“The occupation’s targeting of the journalists’ residence was deliberate, and there are injured journalists from other Arab channels,” Ghassan bin Jiddo, the director of Al-Mayadeen, said on the channel’s X account.
“We hold the occupation fully responsible for this war crime, in which journalist crews, including the Al-Mayadeen team, were targeted.”
The killings come 24 hours after an Israeli strike hit an office used by Al-Mayadeen in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded in that strike.
Lebanese authorities say the Israeli military campaign has killed more than 2,500 people and displaced more than 1 million people, spawning a humanitarian crisis.
On Thursday, an Israeli strike killed three Lebanese soldiers as they tried to evacuate wounded people from the border village of Yater, the Lebanese army said. There was no comment from the Israeli military.
The U.S. has said Israel should take steps to avoid civilian casualties and not endanger U.N. peacekeepers or Lebanese army troops in its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.
Israel, which has been criticised for shelling hospitals and schools, has said it precisely targets Hamas and Hezbollah militants, accusing them of using civilians as shields.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that as of Oct. 24, its preliminary investigations showed at least 128 journalists and media workers had been killed since the start of the Gaza war, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.
It said the overwhelming majority were Palestinian media workers, 123 Palestinian, two Israeli, and three Lebanese.
At least five journalists have been killed over the past year of conflict in Lebanon, including a Reuters visuals journalist.
(Reuters)