According to the group, the Oct. 25 airstrike fell under the definition of a war crime as it was a deliberate attack on civilians. It happened early in the morning at the Hasbaya Village Club Resort in southern Lebanon, where over a dozen journalists had been staying for weeks. HRW found no evidence of military activity or forces in the area at the time.
Initially, Israel claimed it has struck a building used by "terrorists" – but later said the incident was "under review." This, despite the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) allegedly being aware of the journalists' presence in the building. (Related: Israel conducted 106 airstrikes on Lebanon in 24 hours, killing 17 and displacing thousands amid escalating conflict.)
HRW conducted its own investigation on the matter, interviewing eight people – including three injured journalists and the resort's owner – and visiting the site. Footage and satellite image corroborated its findings. Almost three weeks later on Nov. 14, HRW sent letters to the Israeli military and Lebanese authorities requesting clarification, but received no response.
The attack killed three journalists: Al Mayadeen cameraman Ghassan Najjar and Al Mayadeen satellite broadcast engineer Mohammed Reda. Wissam Kassem, a cameraman for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV channel, was also killed. Several others were seriously injured – including Hassan Hoteit, a cameraman for satellite service provider ISOL for Broadcast, and Al Jazeera camera operator Ali Mortada.
The journalists had been reporting in the region since Oct. 1 following their evacuation under Israeli orders. Mortada recalled waking up to the blast and being injured by falling pieces of concrete. He also recounted finding the bodies of his colleagues and body parts in the rubble.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began last October, Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted journalists and media outlets, including Al Mayadeen. HRW documented an attack in October 2023 that killed Issam Abdallah of Reuters and injured six others. The following month, two Al Mayadeen journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Munition with U.S.-made upgrade was used for Hasbaya airstrike
According to HRW, the IDF used an air-dropped bomb equipped with a U.S.-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit. The upgraded munition struck the building where the journalists were staying and detonated upon impact.
The group's investigation confirmed that the remnants of the munition used in the Oct. 25 airstrike were consistent with a JDAM guidance kit manufactured by American aerospace company Boeing. The JDAM kit uses satellite coordinates to accurately guide bombs to their targets, indicating that the strike was deliberate and not accidental.
HRW wrote to Boeing and Woodard, another U.S. company making components for JDAM systems, but did not receive a response. The group has also previously documented other incidents where Israel used U.S.-supplied weapons against civilians. Given this, HRW called on Washington to suspend arms transfers to Tel Aviv.
"The Israeli military's history of deadly attacks on journalists, without accountability, offers little hope for justice in this and future violations," said HRW Senior Researcher for Crisis, Conflict and Arms Richard Weir. "Israel's use of U.S. arms to unlawfully target and kill journalists far from any military objective tarnishes both Israel and the United States."
"As evidence mounts of Israel’s unlawful use of U.S. weapons, including in apparent war crimes, U.S. officials need to decide whether they will uphold U.S. and international law by halting arms sales to Israel – or risk being found legally complicit in serious violations."
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Watch this short clip of Israeli bombs equipped with U.S.-made JDAM munition guidance systems, similar to the ones used in the Oct. 25 Hasbaya airstrike in Lebanon that killed journalists.
This video is from the channel Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth on Brighteon.com.
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