An Israeli strike killed three journalists in south Lebanon on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said, and the UN refugee agency warned that Israeli airstrikes on a border crossing with Syria were hindering refugees trying to flee the war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was an urgent need to get a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, a day after he said Washington did not want to see a protracted campaign in Lebanon by its ally Israel.
Israel launched its major offensive in Lebanon a month ago, saying it was targeting the heavily armed, Hezbollah group to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from the north due to cross-border rocket attacks.
Beirut authorities say Israel's Lebanon offensive has killed more than 2,500 people and displaced more than 1.2 million, sparking a humanitarian crisis.
The journalists killed in south Lebanon were Ghassan Najjar and Mohamed Reda of the news outlet Al Mayadeen and Wissam Qassem, who worked for Hezbollah's Al Manar, the outlets said in separate statements. Several others were wounded.
They had been staying at guesthouses in Hasbaya, a town not previously targeted, when it was hit around 3 am.
Five journalists have been killed in previous Israeli strikes while reporting on the conflict, including Reuters visual journalist Issam Abdallah on October 13, 2023.
"This is a war crime," Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary said. At least 18 journalists from six media outlets, including Sky News and Al Jazeera were using the guesthouses. "We heard the airplane flying very low - that's what woke us up - and then we heard the two missiles," Muhammad Farhat, a reporter with Lebanese broadcaster Al Jadeed, said.
His footage showed overturned and damaged cars, some marked "Press". There was no immediate comment from Israel, which in general denies deliberately attacking journalists.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said on Friday. Israeli forces fired at their troops in an observation post in southern Dhayra on Tuesday, leading them to leave the post though they remained at the base.
Israel has denied deliberately targeting the force but its previous strikes on UNIFIL posts have drawn international condemnation.
Israel has used airstrikes to pound southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburbs, and has also sent ground forces into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah.
The military said on Friday it struck weapon production sites and Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut as well as Hezbollah targets around the Jousieh border crossing in the northern Bekaa Valley. It said Hezbollah used the crossing, controlled by the Syrian military, to transfer weapons into Lebanon.
The UN refugee agency said the strikes were hindering refugees' attempts to flee. UNHCR spokesperson Rula Amin said some 430,000 people have crossed to Syria since Israel's campaign started. Lebanon has previously been a major destination for refugees from the Syrian civil war.
"The attacks on the border crossings are a major concern," Amin said. "They are blocking the path to safety for people fleeing conflict."
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