TEL AVIV — An Israeli airstrike on Friday killed three journalists at a compound in southern Lebanon where more than a dozen journalists from multiple organizations are known to be held, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack was premeditated and a “war crime committed by Israel’s enemies.”
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment on the attack, but later said it was investigating.
The three journalists were identified as two cameramen and an engineer who worked for a media company linked to Iran and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Intensifying war together for a year. Hezbollah has long been designated a terrorist group by the United States, Israel, and many other countries.
The pre-dawn airstrike destroyed buildings and at least one vehicle with the word “PRESS” written on it about eight miles inside the Lebanese border.
According to the Associated Press and other sources, no warning was issued before the strike at the guesthouse where journalists were staying.
The Israel Defense Forces reported five casualties among its forces in southern Lebanon on Thursday, saying Hezbollah militants emerged from a tunnel and began throwing grenades, and Israeli soldiers returned fire.
The Israel Defense Forces said 22 soldiers have been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon since Israel began ground operations there in early October.
Israeli forces also continue and intensify attacks against Hezbollah’s Hamas allies in the Gaza Strip. Killing of group leader Yahya Sinwar Early this month. Health authorities in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory said Friday that an Israeli Defense Force airstrike killed at least 38 people in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, including at least 14 children.
In the northern enclave, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last operating hospital in the area, after two other nearby facilities were shut down in recent days. The hospital is located in Beit Lahia, northwestern Jabalia, and has been the main focus of IDF operations in recent weeks.
IDF forces entered the hospital at midnight, shortly after a World Health Organization delegation left the facility, medical workers said.
The IDF said in a statement that its forces were operating in the hospital area “based on intelligence information regarding the presence of terrorists in the area and terrorist infrastructure,” where they “eliminated several hundred terrorists.” The IDF said it had evacuated approximately 45,000 Palestinian civilians ahead of the operation.
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday that three Israeli soldiers were killed in an operation in northern Gaza.
As fighting continues in Lebanon and Gaza, US Secretary of State Antley Blinken returned to the region this week to push for a peace deal.
Prime Minister Blinken was in London on Friday, completing his 11th trip to the Middle East in the past year, where he met with the interim prime minister of Lebanon and the prime ministers of Jordan and Qatar.
After the meeting with Jordan’s foreign minister, the State Department issued a statement saying Blinken “stressed the importance of ending the war in Gaza, ensuring the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people.” .
Regarding Lebanon, Mr. Blinken told Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safaddin that the United States would work with regional partners “to establish lasting stability” by seeking a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict based on existing U.N. resolutions. He said he remains committed to cooperating.
Blinken said Israel cannot leave troops in Lebanon for long, and that the IDF cannot protect civilians, the Lebanese army, united nations peacekeeping force It is based in the southern part of the country.
Israel confirmed Thursday that it will send spy chief David Balnea to Qatar on Sunday for another round of talks with U.S. and regional officials aimed at reaching a cease-fire agreement. CIA Director Bill Burns will also attend the meeting, along with the prime minister of Qatar, which has served as one of the mediating countries for the past year.
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