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Lebanon
At the invitation of the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate, and with the attendance of hundreds of journalists, media professionals, and photographers, a loyalty vigil was held in front of the ESCWA headquarters in downtown Beirut "to raise our voices loudly for our 27 martyrs and in tribute to the martyr Amal Khalil."
Participating in the vigil, alongside Syndicate President Joseph Kasseifi and Syndicate Council members: the representative of the Information Minister Paul Marqos, Youssef Fawwaz; Director General of the Ministry of Information Dr. Hassan Falha; Director of Radio Lebanon Mohammad Gharib; Director of Studies and Publications at the Ministry of Information and President of the Media College Alumni Association Khader Majed; Photographers Syndicate President Ali Alloush; President of the Lebanese Television Employees Syndicate Mirna Shedyaq with a delegation; Director of Programs and Production at Lebanese Television Haytham Klout; President of the Amel Association Dr. Kamel Mohanna; a delegation from the Graphic Syndicate and the family of the martyr Amal, as well as media personnel.
The solidarity gathering was opened by Deputy Syndicate President Salah Taki el-Din, who called for singing the national anthem and observing a minute of silence in tribute to the souls of Lebanon's press and media martyrs.
Syndicate President Joseph Kasseifi then spoke, saying: "We are here today to express our anger, our condemnation, and our denunciation of the crimes committed by Israel against Lebanese journalists and media professionals since 2023 until the recent past — the date of the martyrdom of martyr Amal Khalil. The number of martyrs from among Lebanese journalists, media professionals, and photographers has reached 27, while the number of wounded has exceeded thirty. They are professionals working on the ground, covered by protection under international laws, conventions, and covenants that Israel has not respected and has openly violated, and even boasted about. The martyrs who fell and the wounded who were injured were directly targeted by its artillery, aviation, and drones — a deliberate premeditated act. Israel announced this after the martyrdom of Khalil, Ali Shuaib, and Fatima Fattouni, and showed no shame in its act. And it had threatened Khalil with death in 2024. What more evidence of its criminal nature could there be?"
He added: "The United Nations, UNESCO, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Arab League, the General Union of Arab Journalists, and other international and Arab federations and syndicates, are called upon to act immediately and demand that Israel: 1 — Stop the massacres against the Lebanese media community covering the events of the war on Lebanon. 2 — Take all measures to ensure that Israel does not escape punishment for its deliberate killing of Lebanese journalists, media professionals, and photographers, including filing a complaint against it before the International Criminal Court. The Lebanese press community, despite its diverse affiliations, backgrounds, and opinions, is called upon to show solidarity and cohesion, placing the ethics of the profession above all else. If politics divides, then the spirit of patriotism and citizenship unites, and any tragedy that befalls a colleague befalls us all. This is what imposes on us obligations of unity and cooperation, even if our positions differ."
He added: "As we submit to the Secretariat of the United Nations the Syndicate's memo, which explains the reality of the situation and demands the condemnation and punishment of Israel and the pursuit of non-impunity, we pray to God to protect our colleagues who work in the field covering the aggressions on Lebanon, urging them to exercise caution and take maximum possible precautions, and we ask mercy for the press and media martyrs whose pure blood has drenched the soil of Lebanon."
Afterward, there was a speech by the martyr Amal's brother, Ali Khalil, in which he presented the martyr's humanitarian work with southerners and displaced people, in addition to her journalistic work in service of Lebanon and resistance to Israel.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, members of the Syndicate Council handed the memo to the Deputy Special Coordinator of the United Nations in Lebanon Morad Wehbe, in which it stated: "Since November 2023, Israel has begun targeting Lebanese journalists and photographers who were covering the events of its war on Lebanon, causing among them 27 martyrs so far and more than thirty wounded, including some who suffered permanent or temporary disabilities. This is in clear violation of UN conventions, foremost among them the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions, the rules of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and UNESCO recommendations that prohibit targeting press correspondents and media teams in areas of conflict and war, on a par with medical teams and rescuers.
It has been confirmed for the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate that Israel deliberately killed journalists and photographers despite their wearing helmets and protective vests bearing insignia and inscriptions indicating their capacity and work. It pursued a number of them and hunted them down until it killed them, and this is the case of martyr Amal Khalil, who it had previously threatened in 2024, threatening to behead her.
The Syndicate, which considers all the martyrs to have been deliberately and premeditatedly killed and not by accident or coincidence, demands that the United Nations intervene immediately to compel Israel to stop its massacres against journalists and media professionals who are performing their professional duty on the ground, and to stop pursuing them under false and incorrect pretexts, especially since a number of them were assassinated along with members of their families while in their homes.
The Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate believes that the United Nations must explicitly condemn Israel and denounce its massacres against the media community in Lebanon, and take all legal measures to hold it accountable before the International Criminal Court to ensure that it does not escape punishment, and to preserve the safety of workers in this sector covered by the protection and immunity of the law. It will submit through you to the Secretariat of the United Nations a detailed memo on the crimes committed by Israel against journalists, media professionals, and photographers, supported by documents and photographs that prove by compelling facts its direct involvement in these crimes, hoping to form an international fact-finding commission to investigate the facts and prepare a report illuminating what it has done in terms of violations that exceed the limits of description in their brutality, barbarism, and disregard for human rights and civilian lives. With the note that journalists and media professionals, according to the definition of international resolutions and conventions, are civilians covered by UN protection in wartime.
The Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate, which has been stricken by the martyrdom of 27 of Lebanon's finest media professionals, apart from dozens of wounded, relies on the United Nations to expedite the adoption of immediate measures to stop this heinous deliberate massacre against workers in the media sector who do not carry out acts of war, but rather perform their professional duty of conveying facts and events."
