Al Mayadeen Media Network on Tuesday held a memorial service for its martyrs, correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Me'mari, as well as citizen Hussein Akil who was helping the journalists carry out their duty in southern Lebanon.

Our beloved colleagues consistently reported on Israeli atrocities in southern Lebanon despite Israeli threats. These two journalists were united in a bond forged by their dedication, bravery, and, ultimately, their sacrifice.

They have ascended as two new martyrs, true heroes, performing their journalistic duties to expose the Israeli occupation's crimes during the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon. 

The memorial service was attended by a plethora of high-ranking and well-known Lebanese and international figures, as well as the martyrs' families, friends, and colleagues, all of whom offered their condolences and condemned the Israeli occupation's war crimes.

Ghassan Ben Jeddou

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Mayadeen Media Network, Ghassan Ben Jeddou, thanked the Lebanese government at the memorial gathering for lodging a complaint with the United Nations against “Israel” for the assassination of our martyrs.

Al Mayadeen’s chairman also announced that Al Mayadeen will allocate an annual scholarship in the name of Rabih Me'mari in photography and directing at a university in the Arab world or the Global South and an annual journalism scholarship in the name of Farah Omar at a university in the Arab or the Global South.

Addressing the media across the globe, he confirmed that “Farah, Rabih, and Hussein are martyrs, not just dead,” slamming any attempt to cast doubt on the martyrs or devalue or belittle the martyrdom of the three.

Ben Jeddou stressed that Al Mayadeen “will not back down from defending the children of Gaza, Palestine, and the cause,” adding that “Al Mayadeen’s compass is the Palestinian cause.”

“It is not acceptable to ban Al Mayadeen in the West Bank, which is rejected by every Palestinian, and we are sure that the occupation fears it,” he said, adding that the network “never differentiated between the people of Palestine in the ’48 occupied territories, Gaza, or the West Bank, just as it never fomented sedition.”

Al Mayadeen’s chief addressed the occupation by saying, “Only the battleground will tell,” and then turned to the fan base of the network, saying, “Rest assured, Al Mayadeen will continue with me or without me... we shall forever remain steadfast.”

Hisham Omar

On his part, the father of martyr Farah, Hisham Omar, confirmed, in a speech at the gathering, that “Farah went to the south of her own free will and not by a decision from Al Mayadeen,” asking the network to end their grief over Farah.

Omar said, “It is fortunate for Farah that she joined Al Mayadeen, and it is also fortunate for Al Mayadeen that Farah joined the network’s crew,” stressing that Farah’s martyrdom will serve as a model of honor for him. 

He addressed the occupation entity, saying, “You shut down Al Mayadeen in the West Bank, yet it defeated you in Gaza, just as Hanaa Mahameed was victorious.”

Aleida Guevara

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Cuban revolutionary and daughter of the leader of the Cuban Revolution and revolutionary icon Che Guevara, Aleida Che Guevara, highlighted "the truth that Al Mayadeen is staunchly defending, which the whole world needs to know and which has so far cost the lives of 70 journalists who are engaged in the struggle for freedom."

Speaking during the memorial service, Guevara underlined that the martyrs who ascended "revealed the truth and the actual source of terrorism," saying martyrs Farah and Rabih, among others, gave impetus to the truth.

"The zionist state has broken a record with the number of its crimes against humanity," she said. "This enemy could not fight on the ground, so it took it out on the children of Palestine, which makes it an enemy that is unmatched in terms of obscenity."

"It hurts us, Israel's impunity, with backing from European countries and the United States," Guevara stressed, though she underlined that what hurts more than the impunity of the Israeli occupation was "the inertia regarding the painful incidents" taking place due to the Israeli occupation's criminality.

The Cuban revolutionary emphasized the necessity of the Palestinian people reclaiming their usurped land "and their right to a dignified life," maintaining that Resistance was necessary until either victory or death.

She concluded with a famous quote by her martyred father: "It is homeland or death... and we shall reign victorious."

Ziad Makary

"Israel is a killer of humanity, and its criminality is a proven fact: it is becoming more radical, and that is evidence of its failure," Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary said during a speech he gave during the memorial service.

Lebanon "will launch a legal battle with the occupation as a murderous state," he said, noting that there was talk about filing a complaint with the International Criminal Court.

Leila Khaled

Palestinian freedom fighter and renowned activist Leila Khaled extended her blessings to the families of the martyrs on the martyrdom of their children, which she said made the world "acknowledge the truth of this murderous enemy."

"The Resistance reigned victorious on October 7," she said, underlining the importance of adhering to the path of martyrdom.

"The path to martyrdom is the path of life," she stressed. "Martyrdom taught us how man can be free and that they [the Israelis] are killers and criminals."

"The Palestinian narrative triumphed over the zionist one despite all this destruction and bloodshed," Khaled added. "They will not be on our land for long, for the more martyrs that ascend the closer victory gets."

"They can pluck out all the flowers, but spring shall bloom again," the Palestinian guerilla fighter stressed at the conclusion of her speech.

Hamdin Sabahi

National Arab Conference Secretary-General Hamdin Sabahi stressed that Al Mayadeen, "with its reporters who ascended as martyrs in a testament to a vision, opinion, stance, and image, affirmed that it is far from neutrality on matters of righteousness and wickedness."

"#AlMayadeen, with its reporters who ascended as martyrs in a testament to a vision, opinion, stance, and image, affirmed that it is far from neutrality on matters of righteousness and wickedness."

- The Secretary-General of the Arab National Conference Hamdeen Sabahi https://t.co/MXAc3dnHdu

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 28, 2023

"There is no neutrality when it comes to a killer and their victim," he stressed. "This battle was crowned with victory after we shook the occupation entity down to its core," Sabahi added.

Furthermore, he praised how the Palestinian cause was revived and was garnering paramount media attention, with the normalization bids taking a hit "due to the Resistance and honest reporting," which allowed for exposing the Israeli occupation.

Sabahi, addressing Al Mayadeen, said they proved to be tantamount to a brigade in the face of the occupation and its aggression; "seek comfort in patience and safeguard the great victory achieved by the Resistance."

"The Resistance is rejuvenated by the blessing of the blood of the martyrs," he said, hailing all the martyrs of the Islamic World, the Resistance, and the courageous, unwavering, revolutionary Gaza, as well as Al Mayadeen "as a weapon that is awakening the conscience of the people."