Lebanon's Prime Minister Accuses Israeli Strikes of Causing Journalist Deaths

According to local media, four individuals, including two journalists, were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon as tensions escalate along the border. Lebanon's prime minister denounced the attack in the village of Tayr Harfa, where an Al Mayadeen TV reporter, a cameraman, and another man were killed. An elderly woman was also reportedly killed in Kfarkela. The Israeli military has not provided any comment regarding the incident. Earlier, they announced that they had struck "terrorist cells" in the border area and targeted locations belonging to Hezbollah, a Lebanese group that has consistently fired missiles and mortar shells into Israel since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Al Mayadeen, an Arabic TV channel based in Beirut, stated that their reporter and cameraman were deliberately targeted while reporting from Tayr Harfa. The channel reported that an Israeli warplane fired two rockets at the journalists' location, just after they had finished a live broadcast updating on the Israeli bombardment in South Lebanon. A picture circulating on social media shows the bodies of the journalists near a burning TV camera. Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) identified another civilian, Hussein Aqeel, as the victim of the attack. Lebanon's Prime Minister condemned the incident, stating that Israeli crimes have no bounds and their aim is to silence the media that exposes their actions. Another individual, identified as 80-year-old Laiqa Sarhan, was killed in a strike on a village along the border. The house sustained severe damage, and family members, including children, were wounded and transported to the hospital. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that it is investigating the incident but has maintained that it does not intentionally target journalists. The IDF also released a statement confirming that they had identified and struck armed terrorist cells in the border area and targeted Hezbollah infrastructure. They also retaliated against mortar shells fired towards an IDF post in northern Israel. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shia Islamist group, holds significant military and political power in Lebanon and is classified as a terrorist organization by several countries, including Israel, the UK, and the US. The clashes along the border intensified after an attack by Gaza-based gunmen from Hamas, another Iran-backed terrorist group, on Southern Israel. This attack resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and nearly 240 hostages. This incident in Lebanon occurs nearly a week after an Israeli attack targeted journalists working in the village of Yaroun, killing a Reuters cameraman and injuring six other journalists. According to the UN, at least 77 individuals, including combatants and civilians, have been killed due to armed clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border, while Israeli authorities have reported six soldiers and three civilians killed in northern Israel during the same period.