Al Mayadeen TV mentioned an Israeli assault ‘intentionally’ focused its correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Me’mari.
An Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon has killed three journalists, in accordance with Lebanese media, as hostilities develop alongside Israel’s northern border.
Lebanon’s state-run Nationwide Information Company reported on Tuesday that an “enemy bombing” killed three individuals within the Tayr Harfa space, about 1.6km (1 mile) from the Israeli frontier.
Lebanese channel Al Mayadeen TV mentioned two of its workers had been among the many victims. The third particular person killed was mentioned to be an area journalist and “contributor” to the channel.
“Correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Me’mari had been killed by an Israeli assault,” Al Mayadeen mentioned in a press release.
“It was a direct assault, it was not by probability,” Al Mayadeen director Ghassan bin Jiddo mentioned, noting it got here after an Israeli authorities resolution this month to dam entry to the channel’s web site.
“One other assault has focused journalists in southern Lebanon, killing a reporter and a cameraman who labored for the pan-Arabic channel Al Mayadeen … A 3rd particular person, who was with them, was additionally killed,” mentioned Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from southern Lebanon.
“The sensation right here is that the Israeli military desires to silence the media and punish journalists,” our correspondent mentioned.
“Israel” intentionally focused #AlMayadeen‘s correspondent, Farah Omar, and cameraman Rabih Me’mari, killing them each after they’d simply ended their reside broadcast from South #Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/EOvyiRkiM9
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 21, 2023
Israel blacklisted Al Mayadeen TV final week, accusing it of “wartime efforts to hurt [Israel’s] safety pursuits and to serve the enemy’s objectives”.
Israel’s Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi mentioned on October 13 he had begun work to dam Al Mayadeen’s web sites and programming and shut down its native places of work.
“The Lebanese info minister has requested the military to open an investigation into [the attack on Tuesday],” Khodr mentioned, including that this was the third assault towards journalists in southern Lebanon since October 13.
The Israeli army mentioned it was “wanting into the main points” of the incident, the AFP information company reported.
The most recent killings add to not less than 50 reporters and media employees who’ve been killed amid Israel’s 46-day battle in Gaza, in accordance with press freedoms group, the Committee to Defend Journalists.
The overwhelming majority of the killed journalists are Palestinians within the besieged Gaza Strip.
Since October 7, when Israel waged its battle in Gaza following Hamas’s assault on Israeli territory, there have been repeated confrontations between the Israeli military and Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border.
To date, the preventing has killed 70 Hezbollah fighters, 13 Lebanese civilians, seven Israeli troops and three Israeli civilians, in what’s the worst escalation since 2006.
