Al Mayadeen Media Network continues to receive messages of support and condemnation following the attack on its crew in South Lebanon earlier today.

Ali Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), condemned the brutal aggression by the Israeli occupation forces who opened fire on Al Mayadeen's crew in the southern Lebanese town of al-Odeisseh, as they were in a vehicle that was clearly marked with PRESS. 

Youssef stressed the urgent need to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its actions and end the impunity it is granted. He also pointed out that such aggression is part of a broader pattern of brutality employed by "Israel" in South Lebanon, as well as in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it manifests as genocide, specifically targeting journalists and Palestinians.

Youssef affirmed that "this brutality has escalated to the fullest due to the abstinence of concerned international bodies from holding the Israeli aggressor accountable and allowing it to evade punitive consequences.”

Ali Youssef, a member of the IFJ Executive Committee, condemned the recent brutal aggression by the Israeli occupation forces who opened fire on Al Mayadeen's crew in the southern #Lebanese town of al-Odeisseh, as they were in a vehicle that was clearly marked with PRESS.… pic.twitter.com/FDSD4cI6ko

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 12, 2024

In addition, "the support it receives from certain countries, driven by political reasons, derails from international humanitarian law, human rights, and justice,” he added, stressing that this only destroys these values and weakens their impact at the international level, cements the distrust in international institutions, and threatens to turn usurping someone’s rights into the norm.

Along with this comes the “full collapse of the system of international rights and justice and pushing wars to the forefront,” the IFJ member said.

Meanwhile, the head of the Press Editors' Syndicate, Joseph al-Qasifi, denounced the Israeli attack on the vehicle of Al Mayadeen's crew in southern Lebanon

“We call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to add this heinous crime to the list of flagrant crimes committed against Lebanese civilian media professionals and to refer this heinous crime to the UN Security Council,” he stated.

On its part, Index Egyptian News Agency announced solidarity with Al Mayadeen’s crew, following the brutal Israeli attack.

Index’s editorial board said in a statement, “The Egyptian News Agency (Index) stands in solidarity with our colleagues in Al Mayadeen TV Channel, whose car, along with a number of electricity workers, was targeted in a border area by gunfire from the Israeli occupation army.”

What happened?

Earlier today, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire from the "Misgav Am" outpost toward the southern Lebanese town of al-Odeisseh as Al Mayadeen's crew and several civilian vehicles were passing by.

Al Mayadeen's crew, who were driving a vehicle that was clearly marked with PRESS, had evidence of bullet holes as a result of the shooting, but none were injured. 

Our correspondent pointed out that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) witnessed heavy gunfire from the Israeli position toward the al-Odeisseh road.

قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي تطلق النار من موقع "مسكاف عام" باتجاه الطريق في بلدة #العديسة أثناء مرور فريق #الميادين، وإصابة سيارتهم بالرصاص دون وقوع إصابات.@HusseinHsayed @AlMayadeenNews #الميادين_لبنان #لبنان pic.twitter.com/mM8oRmpz5G

— الميادين لبنان (@mayadeenlebanon) April 12, 2024

This is not the first time the IOF target an Al Mayadeen crew.

On November 21, Al Mayadeen's correspondent, Farah Omar, and cameraman Rabih Me'mari, along with their civilian associate Hussein Akil, were murdered in an Israeli airstrike on their location in Tayr Harfa, South Lebanon. An Israeli warplane fired two rockets on the location of Al Mayadeen's crew.

Farah and Rabih had just ended a live broadcast at 10 am, giving updates on the latest Israeli bombardment in South Lebanon. Farah and her colleagues were targeted soon after they wrapped up their coverage and went off air.

These two events come after the Israeli war cabinet approved on November 13 regulations that would allow the occupation government to ban and shut down Al Mayadeen Media Network in Palestine.

According to the decision, Al Mayadeen is said to be harming Israeli "national security".