“Israel” Murders in Prominent Lebanese Journalist Drone Strike in Southern Lebanon

By Staff, Agencies

A prominent Lebanese journalist and executive producer was killed in an “Israeli” unmanned aerial vehicle strike targeting a car in the Iqlim al-Tuffah district of southern Lebanon.

According to Lebanese media outlets, the attack occurred at around 7:20 p.m. local time [1720 GMT] on Saturday when the “Israeli” drone fired a guided missile at the vehicle as it traveled along a road in the village of Jarjouh in Nabatieh province. The strike ignited the car, killing both passengers inside.

Social media activists identified the victims as Ahmad Farhat, a photographer and director with the Arabic-language Nabaa TV, and Abbas Hammoud. Five bystanders, including two minors, were injured while passing through the area during the strike and were transported to Nabih Berri Governmental Hospital in Nabatieh for treatment.

The “Israeli” military later claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it had targeted a senior official of the Hezbollah resistance movement in southern Lebanon. “Israeli” War Minister Israel Katz alleged that Hammoud was a commander within Hezbollah’s aerial unit, responsible for deploying drones into the “Israeli”-occupied territories.

Journalists have faced heightened dangers while covering “Israel’s” bloody onslaughts in Lebanon and Gaza. On October 25, an “Israeli” airstrike killed at least three journalists as they slept in their accommodation in southern Lebanon.

The attack struck a compound in Hasbaya that housed several journalists, killing cameramen Ghassan Najjar and engineer Mohamed Reda of the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen news channel. Al-Manar TV, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that its camera operator Wissam Qassim also lost his life in the strike.

In November, two more al-Mayadeen TV journalists were martyred in an “Israeli” drone attack. The previous month, “Israeli” shelling in southern Lebanon claimed the life of Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and injured several other journalists from AFP and Al-Jazeera.