Israeli soldiers on a road near the Israeli-Lebanese border on Oct. 19, 2023. (Credit: Gil Eliyahu/Reuters)
-The Lebanese Army accused Israel on Thursday night of killing a member of a "team of journalists" covering tensions between Hezbollah and Palestinian factions on one side and Israel on the other in the south of the country.
On Thursday, the Lebanese Army stated in a press release: "A team of seven journalists covering the news near the site of al-Abad, which is within Israeli territory, and the Lebanese town of Houla, was targeted by machine-gun fire from Israeli forces, resulting in the death of one person and the injury of another."
A source within the Lebanese Army, however, denied to L’Orient Today reports that the victim was either Palestinian or Iranian, saying that the man was Lebanese. The source says he was either a driver or a fixer helping foreign journalists navigate in the region.
-The head of the municipality of Saadnayel in the Bekaa, Hussein Shoubassi, told L’Orient Today that the victim was a Palestinian man from Bar Elias, whose mother is from Saadnayel.
-Hezbollah condemned the attack on Friday morning, stating that "the Zionist enemy continues its criminal policy of killing civilians and journalists working in the border area." Hezbollah did not provide further details about the victim.
-The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had earlier indicated that a person was killed after civilians got caught in cross-border gunfire in the south. UNIFIL, which serves as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel, added in a statement that the Lebanese Army had requested its assistance for "seven people trapped near" the border during a "significant exchange of fire." A spokesperson for the UN organization confirmed that these individuals were civilians. "One person lost their life … and the others were rescued," UNIFIL stated, further noting that they had asked Israeli forces to cease fire "to facilitate the rescue operation."
-The state-run National News Agency had previously stated that Israeli forces had "cornered" a group of civilians, including journalists, "near the town of Houla, and opened fire nearby." The civilians were "trapped by the gunfire," the agency added, before indicating that the Lebanese armed forces had rescued them.
-Lebanese media outlets claimed that the targeted group included Iranian journalists. A state-run Iranian television station later stated that the Iranian journalists were "alive and in good health," without providing further details.
-The Israeli army said it is reviewing the circumstances of the fatal gunfire.
-At least 22 people have been killed in southern Lebanon since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Most of them were fighters, but there were also at least four civilians, including a Reuters journalist. Additionally, at least three people were killed on the Israeli side of the border
