Parents of Al Mayadeen's martyrs bid them farewell at HQs
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The parents of Al Mayadeen journalists, Farah Omar and Rabih Me'mari, underline that their children insisted on going to the south to cover the Israeli occupation's crimes.
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Colleagues of the two martyred Al Mayadeen journalists, who were killed by an Israeli strike, mourn outside the channel's headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, November 21, 2023 (AP)
The parents of martyr Farah Omar made a statement in the wake of the Israeli occupation's flagrant war crime against an Al Mayadeen crew in southern Lebanon, underlining that this loss will not break their stride.
Farah's father underlined that the war crime committed against his daughter should not deter journalists from carrying out their duty. "Farah is gone, but there will be a million more like her."
"What happened is an offering for the sake of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and the Resistance will live on," he added.
He further offered his condolences to all the journalists affected and martyred in Gaza by the Israeli occupation since the onset of the aggression.
Farah's mother, on the other hand, said during a ceremony held at Al Mayadeen's headquarters in honor of the martyrs, "My daughter insisted that she go back to cover the events in the south. She wanted that. There will be a thousand other Farahs."
Rabih Me'mari
Just as his colleague, Farah, martyr Rabih insisted on covering the events in southern Lebanon on the border with occupied Palestine, according to his wife, colleague Manal Jaafar, who quoted their last conversation together before his martyrdom.
"This crime is nothing new for the Israeli occupation" as it had killed Reuters photographer martyr Issam Abdullah, "but we offer our lives for the sake of the cause and the homeland, and this is our message as journalists."
"It is not odd that the lively and vibrant Farah is the daughter of this patient family," the chairman of Al Mayadeen's board of directors, Ghassan Ben Jeddou, said.
The Israeli occupation targeting Farah and Rabih was a violation against the whole of Lebanon, he underlined. "It is an important step that the entirety of Lebanon wants the state to respond to the occupation."
In spite of the Israeli occupation's crimes, "We will never stop," he said. "Every correspondent in Lebanon feels as if she was Farah and every cameraman in Lebanon feels as if he was Rabih."
All the Lebanese, without exception, expressed solidarity with Al Mayadeen, Mr. Ben Jeddou said. "Today, after waiting for ages, we finally felt that Lebanon was this great, united count," he added, noting that "this sacred blood would bring about the renaissance of Lebanon."
Finally, he expressed Al Mayadeen's pride in the Lebanese Resistance's act of retaliation against the Israeli occupation, saying this operation "brings pride to the whole of Lebanon and the families of the martyrs."
Retaliation for war crimes
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah announced carrying out three separate operations against Israeli military targets in response to the IOF crime of murdering Al Mayadeen's journalists, Farah Omar and Rabih Me'mari, and channel collaborator Hussein Akil, among other civilians, on Tuesday.
Just a few hours after the reporters were martyred, the Resistance group targeted at 2:25 pm a unit of the "War Corps" associated with the Israeli military intelligence stationed in a house on the outskirts of the "Menara" settlement.
In the first statement, Hezbollah said this was "an initial response," confirming that it was carried out using two guided missiles, which directly hit the target, resulting in certain deaths and injuries among the Israeli force.
Read more: Hezbollah says US partner in all Israeli massacres in Gaza
Al Mayadeen's correspondent, Farah Omar, and cameraman, Rabih Me'mari, were murdered today in an Israeli drone strike on their location in Tayr Harfa, South Lebanon, marking a new episode in the long series of crimes committed by the occupation entity.
Two Israeli rockets were launched at their location, which resulted in their immediate martyrdom.
Farah and Rabih had just ended a live broadcast at 10 am, giving updates on the latest Israeli bombardment in South Lebanon. She and her colleagues were targeted soon after they wrapped up their coverage and went off air.
