Three staff members of Lebanese news organizations were killed in an Israeli airstrike early Friday in southern Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry, the latest in a growing number of deaths among media workers covering Israel’s offensives in Lebanon and Gaza.
The three were killed in a residence where journalists were staying in Hasbaya, a town near Lebanon’s border with Israel, according to the ministry. Three other journalists were wounded in the strike, the ministry said.
The Al-Manar network, which is owned by Hezbollah, reported that a cameraman working for the broadcaster was killed. Al-Mayadeen, an outlet widely considered sympathetic to the Lebanese militant group, said a cameraman and a broadcast engineer with the network were also among the dead.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strike. In the past, Israel has accused the two networks of amplifying Hezbollah’s perspective amid its war with the armed group, and it has banned Al-Mayadeen from transmitting and working inside Israel.
International humanitarian law states that journalists cannot be considered military targets.
“Journalists, regardless of political affiliation, are considered civilians and intentionally directing attacks against civilians would amount to a war crime,” said Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanese researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Eighteen journalists from seven news organizations were staying in the residential compound in Hasbaya, Lebanon’s minister of information, Ziad Makary, said. Photos of the aftermath show that at least three vehicles clearly marked “PRESS” were parked at the residence. People nearby said there was no warning before the strike.
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