Middle East latest: 3 media staffers are killed in Lebanon

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says an Israeli airstrike hit a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon, killing three media staffers from two different news agencies

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli airstrike hit a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon, killing three media staffers from two different news agencies.

Several journalists have been killed since a near-daily exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023.

Lebanon’s health ministry says the total toll over the past year is over 2,500 killed and 12,000 wounded. The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children, according to the United Nations children’s agency. Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah’s top leadership since fighting ramped up in September.

Meanwhile, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between militants and civilians. The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

A hospital director in the northern Gaza Strip says they are facing a catastrophic shortage of basic supplies and that ambulances can no longer service the facility.

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Here's the latest:

An Israeli airstrike on a journalist compound kills 3 TV staffers, Lebanon’s state news says

BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon has killed three media staffers, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Friday.

Local news station Al Jadeed aired footage from the scene showing collapsed buildings and cars marked “PRESS,” covered in dust and rubble. The Israeli army did not issue a warning prior to the strike, which hit a collection of chalets that had been rented by various media outlets.

The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers were among the journalists killed early Friday. Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator was also killed. The airstrike hit early Friday in the Hasbaya region, which had been spared much of the fighting along the border so far.

Several journalists have been killed since a near-daily exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, 2023.

Driver for a United Nations agency is killed by Israeli forces

UNITED NATIONS — A driver for the United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees in Gaza was killed when a U.N.-marked vehicle was hit by Israeli forces, the United Nations said Thursday.

U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters that the Israeli fire also killed the driver’s brother and left three passersby with minor injuries.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon claimed the UNRWA driver was a Hamas commander who participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel.

UNRWA said the driver’s name was on a list of 100 staff members whom Israel claimed were members of Hamas’ military wing that was sent to the agency in July. At the time, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini urged Israel to provide more information so he could take action. But as of Thursday, UNRWA said Lazzarini had not yet received a response.

The attack on the UNRWA vehicle in central Deir Al-Balah was the latest against U.N. staff. More than 230 U.N. employees in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s offensive in the territory since the Israel-Hamas war began.