US-made bombs used in Israel’s deadly attack on journalists in Lebanon

US-manufactured weapons were used to kill three journalists in Lebanon, a Guardian investigation has found. The precision-guided munitions, including a 500lb MK-80 series bomb guided by a US-made JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), killed the journalists while they slept in their accommodation. Legal experts have called the killing a potential war crime.

The attack, which occurred at 3:19am on 25 October, killed cameraman Ghassan Najjar and technician Mohammad Reda from Al-Mayadeen, and cameraman Wissam Qassem from Al-Manar. Analysis of weapon fragments revealed components manufactured by Boeing and Woodward, a Colorado-based aerospace company. The precision-guided nature of the weapon indicates deliberate targeting, while Israeli surveillance equipment, including drones and watchtowers with sophisticated tracking capabilities, had monitored the clearly marked journalists for 23 days before the attack.

The journalists were staying in the Druze-majority town of Hasbaya, chosen specifically for its lack of affiliation with Hezbollah and previous absence of Israeli air strikes. They used vehicles marked with “Press” and wore flak jackets and helmets with similar press symbols. Israeli surveillance drones maintained a “constant” presence over both their live reporting locations and accommodation.

“All the indications show that this would have been a deliberate targeting of journalists: a war crime. This was clearly delineated as a place where journalists were staying,” Nadim Houry, executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative, told the Guardian. The Israeli military claimed it struck a “Hezbollah military structure” but provided no evidence to support this assertion.

The incident is part of Israel’s broader targeting of media personnel, with 188 journalists killed in Gaza and six in Lebanon since 7 October last year. This marks the deadliest period for journalists anywhere in four decades, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The situation is further complicated by Israel’s enforcement of a media blackout, preventing foreign journalists from entering Gaza where it stands accused at the International Court of Justice of committing genocide.

US complicity extends beyond the provision of weapons. Under US law, military assistance should be suspended if American weapons are used in war crimes. However, despite mounting evidence of potential violations, US support for Israel continues unabated. Washington’s commitment to support Israel has not faltered despite the genocide case filed by South Africa and the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes and crimes against humanity charges.

The State Department declined to comment on the Hasbaya attack, stating only that it has “consistently urged Israel to ensure protection of civilians, including journalists.”

Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, condemned the pattern of attacks, stating that they match “the pattern of killings and attacks by Israeli forces on journalists in Gaza,” suggesting a “deliberate strategy by the Israeli military to silence critical reporting on the war and obstruct the documentation of possible international war crimes.”

The attack has had a chilling effect on media workers in Lebanon, who no longer know where they can work safely. Despite statements indicating that it would review certain attacks against journalists, the Israeli military has yet to release any information regarding investigations into its killing of those in the profession. “It is the silence of the international community that let this happen,” said Fatima Ftouni, an Al-Mayadeen journalist who survived the attack that killed her three media colleagues.

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