Journalist Bushra Abdel Samad. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Lebanese journalist and correspondent Bushra Abdel Samad, born in 1969, passed away on Sunday after a battle with cancer, according to local media outlets.
After graduating from the Faculty of Media at the Lebanese University in 1991, Abdel Samad worked as a journalist for more than 20 years, mainly for Al Jazeera, Al Jadeed TV channel and Sawt El Shaeb radio station.
She covered the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, Lebanon's public sector protests and the Lebanese uprising in 2019, among other important events.
According to Local newspaper al-Akhbar, during the 2006 war, Abdel Samad used to move between Southern Lebanese regions and she witness "massacres committed by Israel." She remained stuck in Alma al-Shaab (Sour district) for several days, surrounded by Israeli bombardments.
She was also "known for her closeness to the people, and her name was frequently mentioned among the people of the South," the newspaper adds.
In 2022, Abdel Samad co-founded the podcast platform Watara, through which she kept covering the ongoing war in Gaza and the conflict in South Lebanon.
On Monday, Lebanon's Press Editors' Syndicate mourned Abdel Samad, saying in a statement released by the state-run National News Agency: “[She passed away] while she was at the height of her professional performance, a present journalist, competent and with a distinctive talent.”
The syndicate also said that Abdel Samad joined the Lebanese Press Editors' Syndicate in 2020, adding that she was "fluent in Arabic, French and English."
Moreover, the head of the Press Editors' Syndicate, Joseph al-Kassifi, said that Abdel Samad was the "epitome of politeness and impulsiveness and always sided with truth and justice. She was open, friendly, indifferent to temptations and did not compromise on her convictions."
"Wherever she worked, she left a good impression," he added.