In the early hours of October 25, 2024, an Israeli airstrike targeted a media compound in the southeastern Lebanese town of Hasbaya, killing three journalists and wounding three others. The town, previously considered relatively safe, was home to numerous media workers reporting on the conflict in southern Lebanon.
At a glance:
- Three journalists killed in a strike on a media compound in Hasbaya, Lebanon, early October 25, 2024.
- 18 journalists from seven different outlets were staying at the compound at the time of the attack.
- The strike comes amid a broader Israeli military campaign that has targeted southern Lebanon.
Details of the Incident
Pan-Arab news outlet Al Mayadeen reported the deaths of two of its staff members in the strike: camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida. Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV confirmed that their own camera operator, Wissam Qassim, was also killed. The attack occurred around 3 a.m., catching the journalists off guard as they slept.
Cars parked outside the compound, clearly marked with “press” in English, were among the damaged property. According to Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makari, who condemned the attack, the journalists had believed they were in a safe zone. He described the incident as a “war crime” and called for accountability.
Hasbaya, a Druze-majority town, had largely avoided direct conflict despite heavy Israeli bombardment in other areas of southern Lebanon. The presence of UN peacekeeping forces had given journalists a sense of security, as the UN had been informed of their movements to and from the compound. Local reports indicate that the Israeli strike targeted the journalists despite this coordination.
Al Jadeed reporter Mohammad Farhat criticized the attack, asserting that Israel is “scared of words” and fearful of “the Lebanese voice” that reveals the impact of its military actions. Farhat’s remarks came during a live broadcast from the damaged compound, highlighting the challenges faced by media workers in the conflict zone.
The latest strike is part of an ongoing Israeli military campaign that has intensified over the past month. Since October 8, 2023, Israel’s operations in Lebanon have claimed over 2,500 lives. In the past year, at least 12 Lebanese journalists have been killed by Israeli actions, nine of them since September, according to the Samir Kassir Eyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom.
While this story is an obvious tragedy, it’s hard to avoid the fact that the global media – and various world governments – seem to think that Israel can’t defend itself. Why is that?