Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday that an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon that killed three journalists and injured four others was most likely a deliberate attack on civilians and a war crime that was carried out using a US-provided weapon.
The strike was conducted on October 25, 2024, and targeted the Hasbaya Village Club Resort in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, where more than a dozen journalists had been staying. The strike hit the building at around 3 am when most of the journalists were sleeping.
HRW said it found no evidence of military activity in the area and reviewed information that indicated the Israeli military knew or should have known that journalists were staying in the building.
The strike killed Ghassan Najjar, a journalist and cameraman, and Mohammad Reda, a satellite broadcast engineer, who both worked for Al Mayadeen. Wissam Kassem, a cameraman for the Hezbollah-owned Al Manar TV, was also killed.
HRW said it determined the attack was carried out using a bomb fitted with a US-provided Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kit manufactured by the American company Woodard. The JDAM kits are developed and sold by Boeing.
HRW called on the US to end weapons transfers to Israel. “Israel’s use of US arms to unlawfully attack and kill journalists away from any military target is a terrible mark on the United States as well as Israel,” said Richard Weir, a senior HRW researcher. “The Israeli military’s previous deadly attacks on journalists without any consequences give little hope for accountability in this or future violations against the media.”
Israel has slaughtered an unprecedented number of journalists since October 2023, killing 174 in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. The US has continued to provide military aid to Israel despite clear evidence of war crimes and Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid deliveries in Gaza.
