This is an assassination: Lebanon after Israeli strike kills 3 journalists

'This was an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with a premeditated design, as 18 journalists representing 7 media organizations were present at the scene. This is a war crime,' Lebanon's Information Minister said.

Lebanon Information Minister on Friday slammed Israel after a strike killed three journalists in southern Lebanon.

Calling it a war crime, he said outright that Israel had assassinated the scribes. Taking to X, Ziad T Makary -- the minister -- said "The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists to rest at night in order to betray them in their sleep, and during the past months they did not stop covering the news in the field and transmitting it to reveal its described crimes."

The minister continued, saying that there was premeditation and tracking involved in the Israeli strike. "This was an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with a premeditated design, as 18 journalists representing 7 media organizations were present at the scene. This is a war crime," he said.

The minister ended his message with a note of condolence for the journalists who lost their lives.

Those killed included cameraman Ghassan Najjar and engineer Mohamed Reda who worked for pro-Iranian news outlet Al-Mayadeen and one cameraman who worked for Hezbollah's Al-Manar, Al-Mayadeen reported.

Reporters at the scene said the bungalow where the men were sleeping was directly targeted.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

The killings come 24 hours after an Israeli strike hit an office used by Al-Mayadeen in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded in that strike.

Lebanese authorities say the Israeli military campaign has killed more than 2,500 people and displaced more than 1 million people, spawning a humanitarian crisis.

A month into Israel's military operation against the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned against a protracted Israeli campaign in Lebanon.

"As Israel conducts operations to remove the threat to Israel and its people along the border with Lebanon, we have been very clear that this cannot lead, should not lead, to a protracted campaign," Blinken said in Doha.

Blinken also said he hoped Iran was getting a clear message that further attacks on Israel risked its own interests. Israel has vowed retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage on Oct. 1.

(With Reuters inputs)