Lebanon: Journalist hit by Israel's missile while on air in Baalbek, video captures moment
Lebanese journalist Fadi Boudia was broadcasting from his home on Monday when a missile smashed his window during an IDF attack in Baalbek.
A shocking video shows a journalist getting thrown off balance as he was on air broadcasting from his home in Lebanon's Baalbek. The journalist in the video has been identified as Fadi Boudiya, the editor-in-chief of the Miraya International Network. He has been reportedly injured after the impact.
Watch the video below
Why is Israel striking Southern Lebanon?
Israel launched its biggest airstrikes against Iran-backed Shite militant group Hezbollah on Monday. Israeli military said it will widen its aerial assault campaign against what it believes are Hezbollah's weapon sites in southern and eastern Lebanon. An Israeli military official said the campaign is focused on degrading the group's military capability, indicating a ground invasion was not imminent.
Nearly 500 people have been killed and more than 1000 injured in the airstrikes, which the European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said is threatening to push the region into an “all-out war”.
Tensions escalated in August as Hezbollah launched rockets and drones in retaliation for Israel killing its top commander Faud Shukr in July. On Sunday, the militant group launched more than 100 rockets again as it declared an “open-ended battle of reckoning” with Israel after hundreds of pagers and radios exploded across Lebanon in serial explosions. Lebanon blamed Israel and its top spy agency Mossad for the incident targeting Hezbollah members.
Israel had claimed that diplomatic efforts to stop Hezbollah's attacks are failing, and an all-out war might be the only way to stop the attacks on its northern borders and enable citizens to return to their homes.
Threat to journalists amid Gaza war
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in report said that journalists face high risks while reporting on the conflict and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. It also noted that journalists carry on their duties without adequate protection or communication.
“Every time a journalist is killed, injured, arrested, or forced to go to exile, we lose fragments of the truth. Those responsible for these casualties face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna.
According to UN reports, as of Feb 2024, more than 122 journalists and media professionals have been killed in Gaza since October 7, and many have been injured.
(With agency inputs)
