Middle East latest: 3 media staffers are killed in Lebanon

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli airstrike hit a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon, killing three media staffers from two different news agencies.

Several journalists have been killed since a near-daily exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023.

Lebanon’s health ministry says the total toll over the past year is over 2,500 killed and 12,000 wounded. The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children, according to the United Nations children’s agency. Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah’s top leadership since fighting ramped up in September.

Meanwhile, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between militants and civilians. The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

A hospital director in the northern Gaza Strip says they are facing a catastrophic shortage of basic supplies and that ambulances can no longer service the facility.

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Here's the latest:

Lebanon's information minister accuses Israel of committing a war crime

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary alleged Friday that the attack on a compound housing journalists which killed three media staffers is an “assassination” and “a war crime.”

In a statement, Makary said there were 18 journalists representing seven media organizations at the compound in the town of Hasbaya in south Lebanon.

The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers — camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida — were among the journalists killed early Friday. Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator Wissam Qassim was also killed in the airstrike.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike in Lebanon.

Ghassan bin Jiddo, the director of Al-Mayadeen, alleged in a social media post that the journalists were deliberately targeted.

“We hold the (Israeli) occupation fully responsible for this war crime, in which journalist crews, including the Al-Mayadeen team, were targeted,” he said.

An Israeli airstrike on a journalist compound kills 3 TV staffers, Lebanon’s state news says

BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon has killed three media staffers, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Friday.

Local news station Al Jadeed aired footage from the scene showing collapsed buildings and cars marked “PRESS,” covered in dust and rubble. The Israeli army did not issue a warning prior to the strike, which hit a collection of chalets that had been rented by various media outlets.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike in Lebanon.

The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers were among the journalists killed early Friday. Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator was also killed. The airstrike hit early Friday in the Hasbaya region, which had been spared much of the fighting along the border so far.

Several journalists have been killed since a near-daily exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023.

Israel has accused journalists working for Al Jazeera of being members of militant groups, citing documents it purportedly found in Gaza. The network has denied the claims as “a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region.”