Israeli airstrikes kill at least 38 people in Khan Younis

At least 38 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis on Friday, according to Gazan health officials.

It was the latest in a series of massive overnight attacks across Gaza. Earlier in the night, at least 17 people died following an attack on a school. The Jabalia refugee camp and Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza’s north were also targeted.

The strikes came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel had accomplished its objective of “effectively dismantling” Hamas and urged both sides to resume negotiations. During his visit to Qatar, he expressed hope for the revival of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in the coming days.

Three journalists killed in Lebanon

Also on Friday, an Israeli airstrike on guesthouses where journalists were staying in southeast Lebanon killed three media workers.

The Israeli army did not issue a warning prior to the strike. Representatives of the news networks and Lebanese politicians accused Israel of war crimes and intentionally targeting journalists.

“These were just journalists that were sleeping in bed after long days of covering the conflict,” said Imran Khan, a senior correspondent for Al Jazeera English who was among the journalists in the compound. In a social media post, he said he and his team were unhurt.

The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers — camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida — were among the journalists killed early Friday. Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator Wissam Qassim was also killed in the airstrike on the Hasbaya region.

Al-Mayadeen’s director Ghassan bin Jiddo alleged that the Israeli strike on a compound housing journalists was intentional and directed at those covering elements of its military offensive. He vowed that the Beirut-based station would continue its work.

Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary said the journalists were killed while broadcasting what he called Israel’s crimes, and noted they were among a large group of members of the media.

“This is an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with premeditation and planning, as there were 18 journalists present at the location representing seven media institutions,” he wrote in a post on X.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.

The Hasbaya region has been spared much of the violence along the border and many of the journalists now staying there have moved from the nearby town of Marjayoun that has been subjected to sporadic strikes in recent weeks. Earlier in the week, a strike hit an office belonging to Al-Mayadeen on the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Lebanon’s Health Minister said on Friday that 11 journalists have been killed and eight wounded since exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border in early October 2023.