BEIRUT (AP) — An early morning Israeli airstrike killed three journalists as they slept at a guesthouse in southeast Lebanon on Friday, marking one of the deadliest attacks on the media since hostilities began across the border a year ago.
This strike was unusual for targeting an area frequently used by the media as a base to cover the ongoing conflict.
The 3 a.m. airstrike turned the location—a series of chalets nestled among trees rented by various media outlets—into rubble. Cars marked “PRESS” were overturned and coated in dust and debris, and at least one satellite dish used for live broadcasting was completely destroyed.
The Israeli army did not issue a warning prior to the strike, which it claimed targeted Hezbollah militant infrastructure. The military stated that the situation is under review.
Mohammad Farhat, a reporter for Lebanon’s Al Jadeed TV, recounted the panic as everyone rushed out in their sleeping clothes, asking one another, “Are you alive?”
The deceased were camera operator Ghassan Najjar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida from the Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV, as well as camera operator Wissam Qassim from Al-Manar TV, affiliated with Hezbollah. Both stations are backed by Iran.
Earlier in the week, another strike hit Al-Mayadeen’s office in the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburbs.
This latest airstrike is part of a troubling trend, as Israeli attacks on journalists covering the war in Gaza and Lebanon have increased over the past year.
The Israeli military maintained that the strike targeted a building used by Hezbollah militants and that they believed the militants were present during the attack.
“Several hours after the strike, reports emerged indicating that journalists had been affected,” the military said.
Human rights organizations emphasize that deliberately targeting journalists is a war crime.
“Journalists are civilians entitled to protection under international humanitarian law,” said Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa. “It is particularly disturbing to witness Israel targeting civilian institutions due to their association with Hezbollah.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed its outrage over the killing of the three journalists and called for an independent investigation.
“CPJ is deeply distressed by yet another deadly Israeli airstrike on journalists, this time impacting a compound hosting 18 press members in south Lebanon,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, program director at CPJ.
TV crews had recently relocated to Hasbaya, believing it to be safer, after Israel issued an evacuation order for a town further south where they had been reporting.
“This demonstrates a direct targeting, aimed at removing journalists from the south,” stated Elsy Moufarrej, coordinator for the Alternative Press Syndicate in Lebanon. “They intend to prevent the press from covering events in this region.”
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary remarked that the journalists were killed while reporting on what he termed Israel’s “crimes,” emphasizing the large presence of media representatives at the scene.
“This is an assassination, following monitoring and tracking, executed with premeditation and planning, as there were 18 journalists present from seven media organizations,” he posted on social media.
Struck in their sleep
Imran Khan, a senior correspondent for Al Jazeera English who was among the journalists staying in the guesthouses, recounted that the airstrike occurred around 3:30 a.m. without prior notice.
“These were simply journalists asleep in bed after covering the conflict all day,” he noted on social media, adding that he and his team were unharmed.
Hussein Hoteit, a cameraman for Egypt’s Al-Qahira TV, recounted waking up to what he described as “a huge weight” as the walls and ceiling of the guesthouse collapsed. He was rescued by colleagues who managed to remove debris pinning him down. Their accommodation was the closest to where Al-Mayadeen was based.
He reported that two missiles struck the neighboring chalet, although he did not hear the explosions. He spoke from his hospital bed, where he is being treated for thigh injuries.
Three journalists from the group of 18 staying in the guesthouse, including one Egyptian national, sustained injuries.
Yumna Fawaz, a journalist with the Lebanese MTV station, described being awakened when the roof fell in around her, resulting in minor injuries.
“This strike devastated the entire compound. All the chalets were destroyed, and roofs collapsed upon us,” Fawaz told The Associated Press. “This was meant to be our safe space; it had never been targeted before.”
An unprecedented toll
Friday’s incidents add to an alarming toll of journalists killed in Israeli actions over the past year in Gaza and Lebanon.
A report released earlier this month by CPJ revealed that at least 128 journalists and media workers, with nearly all but five being Palestinian, have lost their lives in Gaza and Lebanon—marking the deadliest year for journalists since CPJ began keeping records in 1992. The vast majority of these fatalities were attributed to Israeli forces, according to the report.
“One year in, Israel’s actions in the Gaza conflict have inflicted an unprecedented and horrific toll on Palestinian journalists and the overall media landscape in the region,” CPJ said. The report indicated that at least five journalists, including one in Lebanon last year, were specifically targeted by Israeli forces, and further investigations are ongoing into unverified incidents involving more journalists being killed, missing, or injured.
The killing of journalists has prompted widespread condemnation from press advocacy groups and United Nations officials, despite Israeli assertions that its military does not intentionally target journalists.
Lebanon’s Health Minister reported that, in the past year, 11 journalists have been killed and eight injured by Israeli fire in Lebanon.
In November 2023, two journalists from Al-Mayadeen TV were killed in a drone strike at their reporting location. Also, a month prior, Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon resulted in the death of Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and severely injured journalists from France’s Agence France-Presse and Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV in the vicinity of the Israeli border.
This week, Israel alleged that journalists working for Al Jazeera were affiliated with militant organizations, referring to documents it claimed to have discovered in Gaza. The network has rejected these allegations as a “blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region.”
CPJ has also dismissed Israel’s claims, stating, “Israel has repeatedly made similar unsubstantiated allegations without providing credible evidence.”
Jad Shahrour, spokesperson for the Samir Kassir Eyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, articulated that the bombing of press centers represents a deliberate push to suppress the truth.
“This signifies an attempt to enforce a media blackout,” he stated, highlighting a concerning shift from Gaza-based targeting to Lebanon.
Al-Mayadeen’s director, Ghassan bin Jiddo, asserted that the Israeli strike on Friday was intentional, aimed squarely at those documenting its military offensives.
Ali Shoeib, Al-Manar’s correspondent in south Lebanon, expressed sorrow over the loss of his long-time camera operator, killed in the assault.
“We were there to report the news and highlight the suffering of the victims, and now we find ourselves as part of the news, victims of Israel’s actions,” Shoeib said in a video broadcast on Al-Manar TV.
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