Lebanon: Israeli airstrike kills two journalists
NUJ joins the International Federation of Journalists in condemning the killings of Hadi Al-Sayed and Kamel Karaki.
On 24 September, Kamel Karaki, a cameraman with the Al Manar channel for over twenty-five years, was killed in an Israeli air raid targeting Qantara in South Lebanon. On the same day, journalist Hadi Al-Sayed was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit his home in the town of Borj Rahhal. Despite undergoing surgery at Sidon hospital following injuries to his head, Al-Sayed did not survive.
The NUJ has echoed calls by the IFJ for those responsible for the journalists’ deaths to be tried and punished before the International Criminal Court. The NUJ, IFJ and sister union Lebanese Journalists’ Syndicate (LJS) urge an immediate and investigation into the murders. Joseph Al-Qasif, Lebanese Journalists’ Syndicate president, said the union “condemns Israel’s brutal aggression that claimed the lives of many and led to the displacement of thousands, and laments that journalists and media workers have become victims of the ongoing massacre.”
Anthony Bellanger, IFJ general secretary, said:
“The number of journalists killed in this conflict defies belief. Whether killed deliberately, or as collateral damage, it represents a shocking disregard for human life, and the journalistic community in particular. Impunity for Israel cannot continue and the perpetrators of crimes against journalists must be tried and punished before international criminal courts.”