Lebanon accuses Israel of war crimes over strikes on journalists, hospitals
BEIRUT
Several Lebanese ministers on Oct. 25 accused Israel of committing war crimes by targeting journalists, hospitals and rescue workers amid the U.S. push to reach a diplomatic solution in Lebanon.
The first accusation came from Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati after Israel carried out a strike in the country's south and killed three media workers.
"The new Israeli aggression targeting journalists" was among the "war crimes committed by the Israeli enemy,” Mikati said in a statement, adding the attack was "deliberate" and "aims to terrorize the media to cover up crimes and destruction.”
Pro-Iran Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen said cameraman Ghassan Najjar and broadcast engineer Mohammad Reda were killed in the strike on a journalists' residence in Hasbaya, south Lebanon.
Another TV outlet, Al-Manar, run by Hezbollah, said video journalist Wissam Qassem was also killed in the strike on a bungalow located in a resort that several media organizations covering the Israel-Hezbollah war had rented out.
After the strike a car bearing a “press” marking was crushed under debris. Roofing tiles were blown off, and rubble littered the inside of the bungalow and its surroundings.
Earlier, Information Minister Ziad Makary said Israel had "waited for the journalists' nighttime break" to strike while they slept.
"This is an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with prior planning and design, as there were 18 journalists there representing seven media institutions," Makary wrote.
In another accusation, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Oct. 25 that Israel has carried out attacks on 55 hospitals, 36 of which were directly hit, leaving 12 people dead and 60 wounded.
Abiad told reporters that eight hospitals have been closed while seven are still partially functioning.
He also revealed that paramedic groups have been targeted in different areas, killing 151 people and wounding 212.
Of the paramedics killed, eight remain in their ambulances in south Lebanon with Israel’s military preventing anyone from reaching them, he said.
“Attacks against the medical and paramedic sectors in Lebanon are direct and intentional aggressions,” Abiad said, adding that Israel’s military claims to have intelligence information on what is happening in Lebanon, thus cannot say that these attacks happened by mistake.
“This is a war crime,” Abiad said.
Israel this week claimed that the “secret” bunker under a hospital is Hezbollah's financial hub, as it contained hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold.
The accusation by Lebanon came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to work with "real urgency" for a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon.
Israel, Hamas signal openness to talks on Gaza war
Meanwhile, Israel’s spy chief will attend Gaza ceasefire talks and Hamas vowed to stop fighting if a truce is reached, as long-stalled efforts to end the war appeared to gain momentum.
"Hamas has expressed readiness to stop the fighting, but Israel must commit to a ceasefire, withdraw from the Gaza Strip, allow the return of displaced people, agree to a serious prisoner exchange deal and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza," a Hamas official said.