The Israeli attack that killed reporter Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari from Al Mayadeen on Tuesday sparked a wave of indignation among Lebanese officials.
While Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib announced filing a complaint with the United Nations (weeks after filing a complaint following the killing of three civilians), Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned this “criminal” attack, stating that Israel has “no limits” and that “its aim is to silence the media that denounces its crimes.”
Moreover, Caretaker Minister of Defense Maurice Slim affirmed in a statement that the aim of these attacks is to “prevent the media from reporting on the massacres committed by Israel.”
For its part, the Journalists’ Association also denounced “a premeditated attack that can be considered murder.” To this end, it called on the Federation of Arab Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, and the Federation of Journalists of Asia and Oceania to file a complaint against Israel with the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
The Lebanese Forces (FL) press office condemned “Israel’s continuous, programmed, and deliberate targeting of the media corps.” In a statement, it offered “its condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the media in Lebanon.”
The Kataeb press office also denounced on its X (formerly Twitter) account “Israel’s barbaric attacks on journalists,” stressing once again the neutrality of the latter.
Additionally, the Future Movement’s press office condemned “a new war crime that bears witness to the extent of the Israeli enemy’s persistence in violating all international laws stipulating the neutrality of media professionals, who must not be targeted during their work.”
This strike was also condemned by Hezbollah, who threatened that “this crime will not go unpunished.” The pro-Iranian group’s press office announced in a statement in the afternoon that it had attacked an Israeli military unit with two guided missiles while it was in a house on the outskirts of the settlement of al-Manara. The attack resulted in casualties, according to the statement.
