Israel Targets TV Channel in Beirut

• CrossFireArabia
• October 23, 2024

On Wednesday evening, the Israeli occupation forces launched an airstrike targeting an office of Al Mayadeen in Beirut. The channel had evacuated the premises at the onset of the aggression against Lebanon.

In response, Al Mayadeen held the Israeli occupation accountable for the assault on a well-known media outlet. The channel emphasized its commitment to reporting the truth amid ongoing conflicts.

Following the attack, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mardawi condemned the assault on Al Mayadeen‘s office, highlighting the channel’s pioneering work in uncovering the facts.

In an interview with Al Mayadeen, al-Mardawi stated that the channel dismantles the narratives of those aligned with the occupation, asserting its role as a fighting media outlet combating an adversary intent on obscuring realities and disseminating misleading accounts.

According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, one person was killed and five others were injured, including a child, in the Israeli attack.

Israeli attacks on Al Mayadeen

The Israeli occupation government approved on August 11 a proposal by Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi to renew the ban on the Al Mayadeen media network. The decision includes the confiscation of its equipment and the blocking of its websites.

Israeli media reported that the Minister of Communications pursued a new government decision after obtaining a “professional opinion” from security agencies and receiving approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In November 2023, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved the suspension of the Al Mayadeen media network in occupied Palestine. The ban followed a joint statement by the Minister of Occupation Security, Yoav Galant, and the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karai, who cited the network as a threat to “Israel’s security” as the reason for the ban.

The Israeli decisions against Al Mayadeen Network come as it continues to cover Operation Al-Aqsa Flood epic since October 7th, until today, in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and occupied al-Quds. 

In December, Israeli media reported that the ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government agreed to extend the restrictions imposed on the Al Mayadeen Media Network for another 30 days.

Israeli restrictions on Al Mayadeen journalists

Like other journalists speaking the truth behind the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the occupation made it a mission to target journalists in its aggressive campaign.

In November 2023, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in occupied al-Quds Hanaa Mahameed faced a grave threat from Israeli journalists and settlers. They followed her to her car, directly threatened her, and physically prevented her from entering the vehicle. This incident is part of a broader, organized campaign and systematic Israeli policy of intimidation designed to silence every Palestinian voice.

In the details of the attack, Haim Etgar, a journalist for Israeli Channel 12, targeted Hanaa. Along with other settlers, Etgar attempted to lure her under the pretext of delivering a postal envelope, after which they set up an ambush for her.

In the West Bank, the director of Al Mayadeen‘s bureau in occupied Palestine, Nasser al-Laham, confirmed that Israeli occupation forces assaulted his wife and children after storming his house in Beit Lahm, in the southern occupied West Bank, on October 31.

At the time, the occupation arrested al-Laham’s two sons, Bassel and Bassil, later releasing Bassil and insisting on confiscating Bassel’s phone. 

Also in November last year, “Israel” deliberately targeted Al Mayadeen’s journalists, martyrs Farah Omar and Rabih Me’mari, in an airstrike as they were covering the Israeli aggression on South Lebanon.

Al Mayadeen