International community rejects murder of journalists in Lebanon: “A very serious incident”

Three journalists covering the Israeli offensive in Lebanon have died in an alleged bombing by the Israeli Army against their residence in the Lebanese city of Hasbaya, in the south of the country, according to the Al Jazeera network and the Lebanese National News Agency.

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The National News Agency of Lebanon indicated this Friday, October 25, 2024, that Three journalists died this morning in a bombing directed at their residence in Hasbaya.

For its part, the Al Jazeera network noted that, around 4 in the morning local time (1 GMT), “A bombing from planes or drones” hit the residence that housed journalists in Hasbaya, killing two cameramen and a technician.

A reporter from the Qatari media affirms from Hasbaya that The deceased “are people with whom I have worked almost every day”, without naming the media for which they reported.

“This is a very serious incident. Israel gave no warning and Hasbaya is not under evacuation orders“he adds.

The reported attack, which has not yet been recognized by the Israeli Army, follows another against the Beirut facilities of the Al Mayadeen television network, close to the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, as reported by the channel itself on its website, leaving one dead and five injured.

Hostilities between the Israeli Army and Hezbollah began on October 8, 2023, when the Shiites began attacks with rockets, drones and missiles “in solidarity” with Gaza, and the conflict escalated at the end of September, when Israel intensified its bombings and attacks against senior Hezbollah officials, and on October 1 he undertook a ground invasion in the south of the country.

Since then more than 2,500 Lebanese – Israel claims that more than a thousand are militiamen – while on the Israeli side some 60 people have died, 28 of them civilians.

UN recriminates acts against health workers and journalists

The UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called for more protection for health workers and journalists covering the war in the Mediterranean countrywhich have been the recurring target of Israeli attacks in recent weeks.

“No effort must be spared to protect hospitals, unequivocally protected by international humanitarian law, from harm“said the UN representative in a statement, in which she recalled that the attacks “increase the burden” of a system that is having difficulty responding to the crisis.

In this sense, he recalled that Lebanon “has already recorded its first case of cholera”, at a time when thousands of displaced people are “crammed into collective shelters” across the country, where “the risk of disease outbreaks is real.”

Besides, Hennis-Plasschaert denounced “recent attacks directed at the media”, such as the one this Friday against the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya, where at least three informants have died and three others have been injured in a bombing attributed to Israel.

“When journalists, protected by international humanitarian law, are targeted, so are our fundamental rights to freedom of information and expression.“, he noted, recalling that “even wars have rules.”

-/AFP

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