Two reporters working for a TV station in Lebanon were killed along with a third person Tuesday in an airstrike which the Lebanese prime minister blamed on Israel.
Al Mayadeen, the channel which employed the journalists, said the strike about a mile from the Israeli border had deliberately targeted the TV crew owing to the channel’s pro-Palestinian sympathies and its support for Iran’s regional military alliance.
Broadcaster NBN Lebanon quoted Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati as saying: “This attack proves once again that there are no limits to Israeli crimes, and that its goal is to silence the media that exposes its crimes and attacks.”
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Al Mayadeen named the journalists killed as Farah Omar, a correspondent, and camera operator Rabie al-Memari. The third person was identified as Hussein Aqil.
Al Mayadeen Director Ghassan bin Jiddo said the strike came after Israel decided to block access to the network’s website this month, according to Al Jazeera. Jiddo also said Aqil was a “contributor” to the channel, though the network told Reuters that he was not working with them.
In response to the attack, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said: “The crime against the Al Mayadeen team is intentional. The resistance will not tolerate harm to civilians and any harm to them will not go without a price, as part of the equation.”
Lebanon’s National News Agency later reported that another Israeli air raid had killed four more people in a car in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. The strike allegedly occurred around seven miles from the Israeli border.
The war between Israel and Hamas—which has also seen significant cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah—has led to the deaths of at least 50 journalists and media workers since Oct. 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The media watchdog said the conflict produced the “deadliest month for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.”
