Transcribe your podcast
[00:00:01]

The two journalists appeared on their channel's promotional footage, with Farah Omar fronting the coverage and Rabi Mamari behind the camera. They were one of the channel's top teams, reporting on the war on Lebanon's southern border. They just finished doing this live broadcast from a field where they were clearly marked as media. Pictures filmed soon afterwards shows a crater. The Lebanese Prime Minister said this was a deliberate attempt by Israel to silence the media. A third civilian nearby was also killed. The channel they worked for, Al Maeddin, is known to be pro Palestinian and pro Iran. The crew's belongings and equipment are left scattered around, and their camera is still positioned on its tripod, half melted but in clear sight for all around to see. In an emotional broadcast paying tribute to them, the director of Al Maedin also blamed the Israelis. It was direct targeting. This was not a coincidence. We'd met the team whilst we were gathering evidence about just that the targeted killings of journalists and civilians. You can see Farah and Rabi in the background on the hill. They now join the growing list of non combatants in Lebanon, all killed in direct strikes.

[00:01:18]

They were also investigating the deaths of these three little sisters, incinerated again after an Israeli strike, and killed with their grandmother. They just packed up to move to a safer area in Beirut. Their mother was the only survivor pulled out by their uncle Samir, also a journalist.

[00:01:36]

She didn't say, Help me or rescue me. She just said, I want my kids. Where are my kids? Help me get them out of a car.

[00:01:44]

As we film, an Israeli drone is constantly overhead monitoring us, just like it was when the family were packing up. Samir took us on the route they'd taken to Leave. I was seeing all this bombing along the way, he told us. They stopped at a corner shop to pick up snacks for the journey. They were excited, the owner said, and showed us images they'd captured on the shop's security cameras. The CCTV shows Huda, the mother of the girls, and her youngest, ten year old Leanne, walking back towards the car. Their uncle Samir emerges from the right to help them. He was in another car in front and had rounded the corner when the strike happened. The vehicle quickly caught fire, obliterating another journalist's family. Israeli military drone footage released a day later shows a car being hit.

[00:02:35]

Sky News has DUOLocated it to the same road. The IDF told us after multiple exchanges.

[00:02:42]

That they'd hit what they called a.

[00:02:43]

Suspicious vehicle with several terrorists inside. But they're now investigating whether some uninvolved.

[00:02:49]

Civilians were also inside. Human rights investigators say that's a war crime and they want Israel's allies to push for justice.

[00:02:59]

Israel in several occasions has failed to conduct credible investigations and hold individuals accountable for war crimes or other violations that were committed. And so we believe that Israel's allies, including the US. The UK and others should press for accountability on this apparent war crime.

[00:03:23]

This latest attack on journalists follows the killing of Reuters cameraman Issam Abdullah and the injuring of six other journalists with him whilst they too were covering the exchange of fire on the southern border. This is the last selfie of Isam on the left with his fellow cameraman, Ellie Brachia. In all the pictures taken that day, the group were all marked as media and again in a position where they could clearly be seen. The aftermath showed the marked media vehicles burning. There were two strikes within 40 seconds. The first killed Isam immediately, the second nearly killed the others as they scrambled to help it's all. My left side fellow cameraman Ellie somehow survived, though he'll need reconstructive surgery. The Lebanese Foreign Minister told us the government believes Israel is intentionally targeting journalists and said Lebanon's preparing a complaint to the UN Security Council demanding action.

[00:04:17]

Of course there is a price you have to pay. We are paying our share. But there is responsibility about this and the responsibility about this. I'm telling you, there is the international laws that should protect us here.

[00:04:32]

Another group of journalists were also targeted whilst filming along the border in Yarun. The pattern of attacks on journalists and their families come on top of the killing of more than 50 journalists in Gaza. Now there's a growing clamor that each of these attacks should be investigated as potential war crimes. Alex Crawford, Sky News, in southern Lebanon.