Reuters photographer killed, 6 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

IANS

Beirut, October 14

A Lebanese photographer was killed, and six other reporters were injured from Israeli attacks on Lebanon's southern village of Alma al-Shaab, media reported.

Israeli forces attacked a vehicle carrying journalists, killing Issam Abdallah, a Lebanese photographer working for Reuters, and injuring six other reporters working for international agencies that include Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Al-Jazeera TV channel, it said on Friday.

It reported that the injured people had been transferred to hospitals as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

In a statement released by Lebanon's Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned Israel for "directly targeting journalists" in its attacks on Lebanon, and wished "a speedy recovery" to the wounded reporters.

Israel stepped up its assault on southern Lebanon on Friday by bombarding the area around the towns of Al-Dhahira, Alma al-Shaab, and Yarin, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).

According to NNA, the bombing on the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab led to a massive fire.

In response, Hezbollah announced that its fighters had attacked four Israeli border sites in response to Friday's attacks on several southern Lebanese towns, prompting the Israeli Army to use a drone to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

The tension on the Lebanese-Israeli border escalated after Hezbollah on October 8 fired dozens of missiles towards military sites in Shebaa Farms in support of the surprise attack on Israeli towns launched by Hamas on the morning of October 7.

The situation escalated again on October 9 after members of Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement (PIJ), infiltrated northern Israel from Lebanon and clashed with Israeli forces, prompting the Israelis to hit several areas in southern Lebanon, killing three Hezbollah members.