Israel deliberately killed three Lebanon journalists, rights watchdog says

Human Rights Watch says the Israeli onslaught connected the journalists successful October was carried retired utilizing a US-produced bomb.

An Israeli aerial onslaught that killed 3 journalists and wounded others successful Lebanon successful October was astir apt a deliberate onslaught connected civilians and an evident warfare crime, Human Rights Watch has said.

An Israeli onslaught connected October 25 killed cameraman Ghassan Najjar and technologist Mohammad Reda, who worked for Al Mayadeen, and Al-Manar TV’s camera relation Wissam Qassim arsenic they slept successful guesthouses successful Hasbaiyya successful southeast Lebanon.

In a study published connected Monday, Human Rights Watch recovered “no grounds of fighting, subject forces, oregon subject enactment successful the contiguous country astatine the clip of the attack” and noted “the Israeli subject knew oregon should person known that journalists were staying successful the country and successful the targeted building”.

The study besides determined that Israeli forces carried retired the onslaught utilizing an air-dropped weaponry equipped with a United States-produced Joint Direct Attack Munition, oregon JDAM, guidance kit.

The rights radical said that it recovered remnants astatine the tract and reviewed photographs of pieces collected by the edifice proprietor and determined that they were accordant with a JDAM guidance kit assembled and sold by the US institution Boeing.

The JDAM is affixed to air-dropped bombs and allows them to beryllium guided to a people by utilizing outer coordinates, making the limb close to wrong respective metres, the radical said.

“Israel’s usage of US arms to unlawfully onslaught and termination journalists distant from immoderate subject people is simply a unspeakable people connected the United States arsenic good arsenic Israel,” Richard Weir, elder crisis, struggle and arms researcher astatine Human Rights Watch, said successful a statement.

The rights radical besides called connected the US authorities to suspend weapons transfers to Israel due to the fact that of the military’s repeated “unlawful attacks connected civilians, for which US officials whitethorn beryllium complicit successful warfare crimes”.

US President Joe Biden’s medication said successful May that Israel’s usage of US-provided weapons successful the Israel-Hamas warfare successful Gaza has apt violated planetary humanitarian instrumentality but that wartime conditions prevented US officials from determining that for definite successful circumstantial attacks.

The Israeli subject has not yet commented connected HRW’s report.

“The Israeli military’s erstwhile deadly attacks connected journalists without immoderate consequences springiness small anticipation for accountability successful this oregon aboriginal violations against the media,” Weir added.

Journalists person been regularly targeted by Israel and person faced unprecedented dangers portion covering Israel’s wars successful Gaza and Lebanon.

In November 2023, 2 journalists for Al Mayadeen TV were killed successful a drone onslaught astatine their reporting spot.

A period earlier, Israeli shelling successful confederate Lebanon killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and earnestly wounded different journalists from Al Jazeera and the AFP quality bureau connected a hilltop not acold from the Israeli border.

The sidesplitting of journalists has prompted an planetary outcry from media advocacy groups and the United Nations.

Israel has repeatedly said it does not deliberately people journalists. On aggregate occasions, the service has besides claimed the killed journalists were fighters oregon “terrorists”.

But according to autarkic investigations carried retired by rights groups and experts, these claims person seldom held up.

Source

:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies