Israeli airstrike on Beirut suburb kills three and injures seven
It was the second airstrike on areas in Beirut's southern suburbs since the the ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militia came into effect in November.
Eyewitnesses said the airstrike targeted the top three floors of a building with two missiles in the Dahieh suburb of Beirut, a known Hezbollah stronghold. It also caused damage to nearby buildings, they added.
Ibrahim Mousawi, a member of Hezbollah bloc in the Lebanese parliament, has condemned the latest Israeli strikes, describing them "as a major act of aggression" that has pushed the situation into an entirely different phase.
He placed full responsibility for what he termed a 'crime' on the international community and the United States, the local Lebanese pro-Iranian al-Mayadeen and Hezbollah-run al-Manar television channels cited him as saying.
He asserted that Israel has effectively declared the ceasefire agreement null and void through its continuous airstrikes and violations in the south of Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley region and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
'The situation has become intolerable. The world is watching as our people are targeted in their sleep, and there is no justification for attacking civilians,' Mousawi said.
Despite the escalation, he reaffirmed Hezbollah's commitment to its stance, emphasizing that Lebanon still has a full opportunity to respond to these violations through state institutions. 'We are not war enthusiasts,' he added.
Mousawi urged the Lebanese government to take decisive diplomatic measures.
"When the state acknowledges that the enemy is breaching the agreement, it must activate the highest levels of diplomacy to find solutions,' he added.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier it targeted a Hezbollah terrorist who had supported members of the allied Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in planning an imminent attack on Israeli civilians.
The man posed a direct threat and was "eliminated," the IDF said in a statement on X.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun strongly condemned the Israeli strike, which hit in early hours of the morning.
He described the attack as a "serious warning" that signals premeditated intentions against Lebanon, particularly given its timing.
"We must intensify our engagement with Lebanon's friends around the world to uphold our right to full sovereignty and prevent any violations - whether from external forces or infiltrators within Lebanon who provide justification for further aggression," he said.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit a Hezbollah facility in Dahieh used to store drones.
Shortly before that, the IDF said it had intercepted two projectiles aimed at northern Israel from the direction of Lebanon.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia had fired rockets at Israel for more than a year since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023 in support of Hamas.
Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive.
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36 minutes ago
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Israel strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in an attack condemned by journalists and rights groups. Israel's military said it targeted and killed Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas militant cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel. Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government, rejected the assertion, and before his death Al Sharif had also denied such claims by Israel. "Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world," Al Jazeera said. Al Sharif, 28, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who died in an airstrike on a tent near Al Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. A hospital official said two other people died. A sixth journalist, local freelance reporter Mohammad Al-Khaldi, was also killed in the strike, medics at Al Shifa Hospital said on Monday. Calling Al Sharif "one of Gaza's bravest journalists", Al Jazeera said the attack was a "desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza". The other journalists killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal, Al Jazeera said. "The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination," Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said on X. The U.N. human rights office condemned the killings, saying the actions by Israel's military represented a "grave breach of international humanitarian law" as Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks. Its post on social media platform X was accompanied by a photograph of flattened blue tents next to a bullet-ridden wall in Gaza City. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is "gravely concerned" about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, his spokesperson said. The Israeli military said in a statement that Al Sharif led a Hamas cell and "was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians" and Israeli troops, citing intelligence and documents it said were discovered in Gaza as evidence but which it did not disclose. Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists, saying many of those killed in Israeli airstrikes were members of Islamist militant groups, working under the guise of the press. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted undated photos on X that appeared to show Al Sharif with Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Hamas October 2023 attack on Israel, and other Hamas officials. Reuters could not verify their authenticity. It was not clear when the purported images were taken nor how the military acquired them. Adraee wrote that only a "terrorist" would be seen with Hamas officials, without providing any context as to why Al Sharif, a journalist, had allegedly met them. People gathered at Sheikh Radwan Cemetery in the heart of the Gaza Strip on Monday to mourn the journalists. Friends, colleagues and relatives consoled each another, many wiping away tears as they bid farewell. Al Sharif was previously part of a Reuters team which in 2024 won a Pulitzer Prize in the category of Breaking News Photography for coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is the deadliest on record for journalists, according to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs' Costs of War project. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 238 journalists have been killed since the war started on October 7, 2023. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 186 journalists have been killed in the Gaza conflict. A press freedom group and a United Nations expert previously warned that Al Sharif's life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. U.N. Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said last month that Israel's claims against him were unsubstantiated. PRE-RECORDED MESSAGE Al Jazeera said Al Sharif had left a social media message to be posted in the event of his death that read, "...I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent". Israel's military had named Al Sharif in October as one of six Gaza journalists it alleged were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, citing documents it said showed lists of people who completed training courses and salaries. 'Al Jazeera categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces' portrayal of our journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence,' the network said in a statement at the time. The Committee to Protect Journalists, which in July urged the international community to protect Al Sharif, said in a statement that Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against him. Al Sharif, whose X account showed more than 500,000 followers, posted on the platform minutes before his death that Israel had been intensely bombarding Gaza City for more than two hours. Palestinian militant group Hamas, which runs Gaza, said the killing may signal the start of an Israeli offensive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will launch a new offensive to dismantle Hamas strongholds in Gaza, where a hunger crisis is escalating after 22 months of war. "The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain pave the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City," Hamas said in a statement.
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Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Albanese says
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an hour ago
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What to know about the journalists killed covering Israel's war in Gaza
At least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the United Nations. The big picture: Israel's military strikes and blocking of aid from Gaza have killed over 60,000 Palestinians, with press advocates and experts calling it the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history. Driving the news: Israel's military targeted and killed 28-year-old Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif on Sunday along with four others at the outlet, the network reported. The Israeli military said it killed al-Sharif, a prominent reporter who extensively covered the war, after accusing him of leading a Hamas cell, an allegation that al-Sharif, press advocates, and the U.N. had rejected. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in July that it was "gravely worried" for al-Sharif's safety following the Israel's allegations, characterizing them as a "smear campaign," which Al-Sharif "believes is a precursor to his assassination." Here's what to know: Who were the six journalists killed this week Al Jazeera said that the Israeli military killed correspondents al-Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea, cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Noufal. The network called the strike a "desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza" and a "targeted assassination." A sixth journalist, local freelance reporter Mohammad al-Khaldi, was also killed in the strike, multiple outlets reported. Context: Al Jazeera is among the few outlets with a large team of reporters inside Gaza, who are able to chronicle fatalities from Israeli strikes and its blockage, the Associate Press noted. Israel has largely restricted international journalists from reporting in Gaza. Israel "ruthlessly smears, threatens, obstructs, targets and kills the few local journalists remaining as the only eyes of the outside world on the ongoing genocide," Irene Khan, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of expression, said in July. What they're saying: Multiple press advocacy organizations, including CPJ and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, condemned Israel for the strike. CPJ and the U.N. have noted that the IDF makes unsubstantiated terrorism allegations against Palestinian journalists that they later kill. "CPJ classifies such cases as murder," the organization said. The U.N. said on X that "we condemn the killing by Israeli military of 6 Palestinian journalists by targeting their tent, in grave breach of international humanitarian law," adding that "Israel must respect & protect all civilians, including journalists." Who was Anas al-Sharif Al-Sharif worked for Al Jazeera for about two years, multiple outlets reported. He is survived by his wife, Bayan, their four-year-old daughter, and one-year-old son. His father was killed in an Israeli airstrike shortly after al-Sharif began working for Al Jazeera, the network said. A post on al-Sharif's official Instagram account show a picture with the journalist and his children. According to the caption, it was the first time meeting his son after 15 months of war. Mohamed Moawad, managing editor at Al Jazeera, told BBC that al-Sharif was the "only voice left in Gaza City." Flashback: Al-Sharif cried on air while reporting on the starvation crisis in July, drawing international attention, after which the Israeli military's accusations ramped up. In one an IDF spokesperson posted footage of al-Sharif crying and accused him of "propaganda" and being part of a "false Hamas campaign on starvation." Irene Khan said that al-Sharif was killed with "no evidence, ever, put forward that he was anything but a journalist," per Al Jazeera. Minutes before the strike, al-Sharif posted to X, "If this madness does not end, Gaza will be reduced to ruins, its people's voices silenced, their faces erased — and history will remember you as silent witnesses to a genocide you chose not to stop." The number of journalists killed By the numbers: The exact death toll of journalists since October 7 is unclear, but analysts estimate between about 190 and 270 Palestinian fatalities. The CPJ says at least 192 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed during the war. Gaza's government media office estimates 238 journalists. a monitoring website organized by Palestinian journalists, estimates that over 270 media professionals have been killed (counting three Lebanese and two Israeli fatalities). Brown University's Watson Institute in April said"the war in Gaza has, since October 7, 2023, killed more journalists than the U.S. Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, combined."
