Three media workers are killed in Lebanon

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said an Israeli airstrike hit a residential neighborhood for journalists in southeast Lebanon, killing three media workers from two different news outlets.

Several journalists have been killed since an almost daily exchange of fire along the Lebanese-Israeli border began on October 8, 2023.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the total number of casualties last year was over 2,500 dead and 12,000 wounded. According to the United Nations Children's Fund, fighting in Lebanon has forced 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children. Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah's top leadership since fighting broke out in September.

Meanwhile, more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to local health authorities, which make no distinction between militants and civilians. The war between Israel and Hamas began after Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel's security fence and stormed in on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping 250 others.

A hospital director in the northern Gaza Strip says there is a catastrophic shortage of basic supplies and that ambulances can no longer operate the facility.

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An Israeli airstrike on a journalists' compound kills three television workers, according to Lebanese state news

BEIRUT – Three media workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a journalist's quarters in southeast Lebanon, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Friday.

Local news channel Al Jadeed broadcast footage from the scene showing collapsed buildings and cars marked “PRESS” covered in dust and debris. The Israeli army issued no warning ahead of the attack, which hit a cluster of chalets rented by various media outlets.

Beirut-based pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Mayadeen said two of its employees were among the journalists killed early Friday. Lebanese Hezbollah group's Al-Manar TV said its cameraman was also killed. The airstrike hit early Friday in the Hasbaya region, which had so far been largely spared from the fighting along the border.

Several journalists have been killed since an almost daily exchange of fire along the Lebanese-Israeli border began on October 8, 2023.

UN agency driver killed by Israeli forces

UNITED NATIONS – A driver for the United Nations agency that helps Palestinian refugees in Gaza was killed when a U.N.-marked vehicle was struck by Israeli forces, the United Nations said Thursday.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that the Israeli fire also killed the driver's brother and slightly injured three passers-by.

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon claimed the UNRWA driver was a Hamas commander who took part in the October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel.

UNRWA said the driver's name appeared on a list of 100 personnel whom Israel claimed were members of Hamas's military wing, which was provided to the agency in July. At the time, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini called on Israel to provide more information so it could take action. But on Thursday, UNRWA said Lazzarini had not yet received a response.

The attack on the UNRWA vehicle in the center of Deir Al-Balah was the latest against UN staff. Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, more than 230 UN personnel in Gaza have been killed in Israel's offensive in the area.