The deaths of journalists come a mere week after an RT crew narrowly escaped an Israeli strike in the same area
The US Central Command has announced the arrival of thousands more military personnel to the Middle East.
The group, headed by the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship, includes around 3,500 US sailors and Marines and is equipped with transport and strike aircraft, as well as amphibious assault assets. The group’s flagship, which is based in Japan, has joined the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the region.
Meanwhile, the Iranian military has continued to conduct retaliatory strikes, launching missiles and kamikaze drones toward Israel as well as US assets in the Middle East.
In southern Lebanon, where the Israeli military has been conducting a massive offensive against Hezbollah militants since early March, an IDF airstrike killed three journalists – Al Mayadeen’s Fatima Ftouni, her brother and cameraman Mohammed, and Al-Manar’s Ali Shuaib.
The Israeli military has confirmed the deadly attack on the reporters’ car, releasing footage of the “targeted strike” and claiming that Shuaib was a “terrorist… under the guise of a journalist.”
The incident came just over a week after RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity narrowly avoided being killed by an Israeli missile that struck less than ten meters away from their filming position. Both sustained minor injuries in the attack.
Sbeity, who personally knew the slain journalists, dismissed as absurd IDF claims that Shuaib was a militant.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has strongly condemned the killing of the journalists, characterizing it as a “blatant crime that violates all the norms and treaties under which journalists enjoy international protection in wars.”
The IDF has been accused of murdering hundreds of journalists in recent years, mainly in Gaza and the West Bank.
Here are the latest developments:
The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran reported a new suspected Israeli strike near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant – the third incident of the kind in ten days – with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi urging “maximum military restraint.”
Trump is reportedly considering renaming the Strait of Hormuz if Iran is pushed out of the waterway, with options including the ‘Strait of America’.
Iran claims it destroyed a Ukrainian anti-drone systems depot in Dubai in strikes against alleged US “hideouts,” and struck key Israeli electronic warfare and radar facilities in Haifa and fuel storage sites linked to Ben Gurion Air Base.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
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