Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Three journalists were killed in Lebanon by an Israeli strike on Friday morning, their colleagues said, drawing condemnation from rights advocates about the number of reporters who have lost their lives in the region over the past year.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it “strongly condemned” the attack, urging the international community to “stop Israel’s long-standing pattern of impunity in journalist killings.”
Israel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously denied deliberately attacking journalists.
The last year has been the deadliest period for journalists in more than 30 years, CPJ has said, with at least 126 reporters and media workers among nearly 45,000 people killed in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Lebanon.
Two Israeli journalists were killed in the Oct. 7 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war.
Friday was the deadliest day for journalists in Lebanon over the last year. At least five other reporters have been killed in Israeli strikes while on assignment in Lebanon, including Reuters visuals journalist Issam Abdallah.
The strike around 3 am local time hit a collection of guesthouses housing only reporters in the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya, killing two journalists from the Al-Mayadeen television network and one journalist from Al-Manar.
