There has been a wave of condemnation regarding the targeting of journalists by the Israeli army, which resulted in the injury of five journalists and the martyrdom of colleague Issam Abdullah while covering the bombing of the border town of Alma al-Shaab.
In response to this direct Israeli assault on the press, a number of journalists gathered at the National Museum to express their solidarity and denounce this crime. This solidarity stand took place near the Reuters office in Beirut, which lost colleague photographer Issam Abdullah. President of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri asked whether the international community needs more evidence that Israel and its political and military levels want to commit their atrocities and aggression without witnesses to the truth and reality? Berri extended his heartfelt condolences to the international and Arab media, the Lebanese media, and the family of the martyr, drawing attention to the martyrdom of photographer Issam Abdullah from Reuters and wishing a speedy recovery to journalist at Al Jazeera, Carmen Jokhdar, and her colleague Eli Barakhia.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated in his statement: "The Israeli enemy's direct targeting of journalists during its ongoing aggression against Lebanese territory is a new disgrace added to its black record of killing and aggression." Mikati added, "May God have mercy on the martyr of media Issam Abdullah, and we hope for the speedy recovery of the injured journalists and photographers who were directly targeted today during their coverage of the Israeli aggression in the south."
The media office of "Hamas" expressed its "sincere condolences to the media professionals in Lebanon and the Lebanese Photographers Union for the martyrdom of journalist Issam Abdullah due to the Israeli occupation's bombing of a group of media colleagues who were following events in southern Lebanon." The statement added, "We in Hamas consider this targeting as reflecting the essence of this criminal enemy, which seeks to uproot the eye of truth and distort fact to justify its crimes in Gaza and all occupied Palestinian territories and southern Lebanon... We denounce the international silence regarding the repeated crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against journalists, which resulted in the martyrdom of a number of our esteemed colleagues while performing their journalistic duties in Gaza, the West Bank, and southern Lebanon. We view this systematic targeting as a direct repudiation of international agreements that mandate the protection of journalists during wars and conflicts, foremost of which are the Third Geneva Convention and the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions."
The statement concluded: "This crime and others targeting journalists require every media worker to stand together in defending media as a bastion of freedom and its role in exposing all forms of crimes, especially the continuous crimes of occupation against our Palestinian people in occupied Palestine. We affirm our complete solidarity with all media colleagues in Gaza and Lebanon and call upon international legal and human rights institutions to pursue and punish the Israeli occupation for its ongoing crimes against journalists and civilians in occupied Palestine."
Minister of Information Ziad Makary stated on the platform "X": "Israel has added another crime to its numerous crimes by targeting journalists in the town of Alma al-Shaab, where the media again paid the price for its ongoing criminality. May God have mercy on Reuters photographer Issam Abdullah, who fell martyr due to the brutal bombing, and all prayers for the speedy recovery of the five wounded, including Al Jazeera's injured Carmen Jokhdar and Eli Barakhia." He added, "The voice of the media is louder than the enemy's terrorism."
The Lebanese Press Syndicate condemned "the heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces this evening by deliberately targeting journalists, including correspondents and photographers, while they were fulfilling their professional media duties in covering the Israeli aggressions against Lebanon in the outskirts of the border town of Alma al-Shaab." The syndicate stated in its statement, "The cowardly massacre perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Lebanese journalists, who were wearing attire indicating they were journalists while performing their tasks, shows that the Israeli enemy wants to carry out its crimes and aggression without witnesses to the truth."
The Press Syndicate expressed its heartfelt condolences to the family of martyr Issam Abdullah and to Reuters, as well as to the Lebanese Photojournalists Union, and to the Lebanese, Arab, and international media community, wishing for the speedy recovery of Al Jazeera journalist Carmen Jokhdar and her colleague Eli Barakhia. It emphasized that this massacre adds to the atrocities perpetrated by the occupation forces with cold blood in Lebanon and down to Gaza, placing it before the international community and the press and media union.
The syndicate concluded: "Once again, the Lebanese press and its workers, including photographers, editors, and correspondents, are martyrs on the path of truth and freedom and witnesses against the Israeli aggression and blind hatred."
The media office of the Progressive Socialist Party issued a statement: "Israel, which commits genocide against the Palestinians, targets journalists to prevent them from exposing its crimes. All condemnation goes to Israel's acts, and all respect to the souls of the martyred journalists in Palestine, and to the spirit of photographer Issam Abdullah, who was martyred today in southern Lebanon, and respect to journalism that exposes the brutality of the occupation."
The media department of the Lebanese Forces party issued the following statement: "The media department of the Lebanese Forces party strongly condemns the Israeli targeting of a group of journalists in Alma al-Shaab in the south, and it deeply regrets that martyrdom has become a fate for the journalistic body in the quest for truth. It extends its condolences to the family of martyr Issam Abdullah, a photographer for Reuters, and to the agency, and wishes a speedy recovery to the wounded, emphasizing the necessity of protecting the journalistic body from any targeting." It considered their targeting as a flagrant crime and that any obstruction of their work rises to the level of a crime that cannot be ignored.
The media office of the Kataeb party condemned in a statement, "the brutal Israeli shelling that targeted a team of Lebanese journalists on the southern border today." It noted, "The direct targeting of journalists while carrying out their duties constitutes a violation of international laws and also rises to the level of a war crime." It expressed its "solidarity with the media body harmed today," extending condolences to the family, friends, and institution of colleague Issam Abdullah, and praying for the speedy recovery of the other injured colleagues. It called for protecting the media body and keeping it away from bombing and killing operations, stating, "It is not a party in the conflicts, but performs a humanitarian and rights-based message guaranteed by all international laws and regulations."
Hezbollah's media relations condemned "the notorious crime perpetrated by the Zionist enemy in targeting a number of journalists on the Lebanese border while covering Israeli assaults on Lebanon, resulting in the martyrdom of colleague journalist Issam Abdullah and injuring several others." It noted that "what the Israeli occupation forces have done is a continuation of their criminal aggression against media institutions in Gaza, destroying their premises and killing many of their workers to prevent the transmission of images and accounts of the barbaric aggression against civilians and innocents." Hezbollah's media relations extended condolences to "Reuters in Lebanon, Al Jazeera, the French press agency in Lebanon, all other free media workers, and the family of the oppressed martyr Issam Abdullah, and we pray for the fast recovery of the wounded."
They called "all media, humanitarian, and legal entities to condemn the Zionist aggression on Lebanon and to denounce the blatant and blind bias of so-called free world institutions in favor of the murderers, criminals, and aggressors." Hezbollah announced that "this notorious crime of killing Lebanese citizens and residents on Lebanese territory and any attack on the security of our people and the safety of our country will not go unpunished."
A statement from the UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said: "Around 5:20 PM today, there was intense gunfire exchanged between Lebanon and Israel around the towns of Alma al-Shaab, Aita al-Shaab, Dhayra, Adaisseh, and Hawla." He added in a statement: "We learned with great sadness that during this exchange of gunfire, a Lebanese journalist was killed, and reports of injuries to other journalists were received." The UNIFIL spokesperson continued: "As tensions continue to escalate dangerously, the head of the UNIFIL mission and its force commander, General Arolando Latharo, urgently calls for a ceasefire. The possibility of this escalation spiraling out of control is clear and must be halted." Tenenti noted that "UNIFIL has been actively cooperating with the authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to de-escalate the situation."
