Israeli airstrike on journalist compound in Lebanon kills 3 TV staffers

The site of an Israeli airstrike on the Laylaki neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs. PIC/AFP

An Israeli airstrike on a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon has killed three media staffers, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. Local station Al Jadeed displayed footage of collapsed buildings and dust-covered automobiles marked "PRESS" at the scene, which included a complex of chalets rented by several media agencies. The Israeli army apparently provided no notice before the strike, reported the Associated Press.

According to the AP report, Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV claimed that two of its employees, camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida, were among those slain. According to Lebanon's Hezbollah-linked Al-Manar TV, camera operator Wissam Qassim was also killed in the Hasbaya hit.

In a video recorded with his phone, Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib stated that the Israeli military was aware that the area was a media facility housing journalists from various organisations. "We were reporting on victims' suffering and are now victims of Israel's actions," Shoeib claimed in an interview, the report stated.

Hasbaya has mostly spared border violence, and many journalists have relocated there from Marjayoun, which has had occasional strikes in recent weeks. An airstrike struck Al-Mayadeen's office in the southern suburbs of Beirut earlier this week, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Reportedly, several journalists have been murdered since the exchange of fire at the Lebanon-Israel border began in October of this year. In November 2023, two Al-Mayadeen journalists were killed by a drone attack, while in October, Israeli shelling killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah while injuring others from AFP and Al Jazeera.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants assaulted southern Israel, murdering approximately 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians, and abducting 250. Over 100 hostages remain in Gaza, with a third believed to be dead. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, with women and children accounting for more than half of the total. Israel claimed to have killed nearly 17,000 fighters, reported AP.

Following a year of border exchanges with Hezbollah, the conflict spilt over into Lebanon on October 1, 2024, with an Israeli ground invasion. Lebanese health officials reported another heavy day of bombings and shelling on Thursday, killing 19 people in 24 hours and bringing the total number of deaths in Lebanon to 2,593 since October 2023.