Israeli airstrike on south Lebanon kills 2 journalists of a pan-Arab TV station, official says

Picture for representation. AFP

An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed two journalists reporting for the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV on the violence along the border with Israel, news wire Associated Press reported on Tuesday. The strike also killed a Lebanese civilian.

The Pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV identified the journalists as correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari saying they were "martyred by treacherous Israeli targeting," adding it was an airstrike.

"It was direct targeting. It was not a coincidence," said Ghassan bin Jiddo, director of the TV channel, holding back his tears in a live broadcast. They join "the martyrs of Gaza," he said. Bin Jiddo said a man from the village, whom he identified as Hussein Akil, was also killed.

Last week, the Israeli government blocked Al-Mayadeen TV news channel from broadcasting in Israel.

Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary called the strike on the journalists "outrageous." The Israeli military said it was looking into the matter.

Local media reported several Israeli strikes on South Lebanon Tuesday.

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Israel's military struck the outskirts of the villages of Teir Harfa and Majdal Zoun in South Lebanon. Another strike on a home in the border village of Kfar Kila killed a woman, Laiqa Serhan, 80, and wounded her granddaughter who was taken to hospital for treatment.

Israeli shelling on southern Lebanon on October 14, killed Reuters videojournalist Issam Abduallah and wounded other journalists from France's international news agency, Agence France-Presse, and Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV.

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The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing daily exchange of fire between members of the militant Hezbollah group and Israeli troops.

More than 13,300 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas's October 7 attacks stands at about 1,200.

Meanwhile, Hamas chief on Tuesday said that a truce deal is "approaching". Reports suggest possible three- to five-day pause in fighting as a Qatari official said that captive release talks are at "critical and final stage".