Local media reported that an air raid struck a hotel in Hasbaya. Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary accused Israel on Friday of deliberately targeting journalists in a southern strike that resulted in the deaths of three reporters, labeling it a “war crime.”
“The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists’ nighttime break to betray them in their sleep. This is an assassination, meticulously planned and executed, as there were 18 journalists representing seven media outlets present. This is a war crime,” Makary stated in a post on X.
According to Lebanese state media, separate Israeli air strikes also killed three journalists in eastern Lebanon and destroyed buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
“Our correspondent in Zahle reported the deaths of three journalists due to an Israeli raid on Hasbaya,” Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said, noting that the strikes occurred at 3:30 am (0030 GMT) near the Syrian border.
The air raid specifically targeted a hotel in Hasbaya, about 50 kilometers south of Beirut.
In a separate incident, Israeli warplanes “destroyed two buildings and ignited a large fire” in the Choueifat Al-Amrousieh area of Beirut, according to NNA.
The NNA also reported that the raid in the Saint Therese area caused the collapse of two buildings near the Constitutional Council.
Reports of the strikes on southern Beirut came shortly after Israel issued evacuation warnings for areas associated with Hezbollah, following intense assaults the night before.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned in a post on X, “You are near facilities belonging to Hezbollah, which the Israeli Defense Forces will be targeting soon,” accompanied by maps of the locations.
AFPTV footage captured smoke rising from southern Beirut after the strikes, and AFP correspondents reported hearing loud explosions.
“Israeli warplanes launched a new strike a short while ago in the Choueifat area of south Beirut,” NNA stated, later confirming that Haret Hreik and Hadath were also hit.
On Wednesday evening, Israeli strikes leveled six buildings in south Beirut, with Israel’s army claiming to target Hezbollah weapons production facilities “under and inside civilian buildings.”
Following a year of limited cross-border clashes with Hezbollah due to the Gaza conflict, Israel began a significant air campaign in Lebanon on September 23, which has since resulted in the deaths of at least 1,580 people, according to AFP’s tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the actual number is likely higher.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded at least 128 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023.
