An Israeli airstrike hit a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon early Friday, killing three media staffers, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
The compound, located in the Hasbaya region, was struck without prior warning, the agency reported.
The local news channel Al Jadeed showed video footage from the scene, revealing collapsed buildings and press-marked vehicles buried in dust and rubble. Among those killed were two Al-Mayadeen TV staff members, camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida. Al-Manar TV, operated by Hezbollah, reported that its camera operator, Wissam Qassim, also died in the strike.
Ali Shoeib, a well-known correspondent for Al-Manar, filmed a video of himself shortly after the attack, sharing that his camera operator had been killed. “We were reporting the news and showing the suffering of the victims, and now we are the news and the victims of Israel’s crimes,” Shoeib stated.
The Hasbaya area, where the journalists had relocated due to recent airstrikes in the town of Marjayoun, had previously seen less violence amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanon-Israel border.
The Israeli military has not commented on the airstrike. This attack comes after other journalists were targeted earlier this year, including a drone strike in November 2023 that killed two Al-Mayadeen journalists and a shelling in October 2023 that killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah.
Israel’s conflict with Hamas militants, who attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has expanded to Lebanon, with Israeli ground forces entering Lebanon on October 1.
Lebanese health officials report that recent airstrikes and shelling have killed 19 more people in the past 24 hours, raising the total death toll in Lebanon to 2,593 since October 2023.
