In the early hours of 25 October, an Israeli warplane targeted a guesthouse allocated for media crews in Lebanon’s southern town of Hasbaya while journalists within the house were still asleep.
Three journalists were killed in the aerial attack, identified as Wissam Qassem, who worked for Al-Manar news network as a cameraman, Ghassan Najjar, a camera operator of Al Mayadeen Media Network, and his co-worker, broadcast engineer Mohamed Reda.
A number of other journalists were also injured in the attack, which accommodated at least 18 journalists from various local and international media outlets. These included MTV Lebanon, Sky News Arabia, Al Jazeera, Al Araby, Al-Qahira News, Al-Ghad TV and TRT World, in addition to the crews of Al Mayadeen and Al-Manar.
Hours after the attack, the Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad announced that the death toll of Lebanese journalists killed by Israel since October 2023 has risen to 11, with eight others injured.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack on Friday, describing it as a “new chapter of war crimes” and accusing Israel of “deliberately targeting” media workers. “Israel’s goal is to intimidate the media to cover up the crimes it is committing,” Mikati said.
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Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary echoed Mikati’s accusation against Israel, stating, “This is an assassination with premeditated intent as there were 18 journalists present representing seven media institutions.” – Peoples Dispatch/Globetrotter News Service
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