Israel used US-made guided bomb in strike that killed three journalists

A Guardian investigation has found that Israel used a US munition to target and kill three journalists and wound three more in a 25 October attack in Lebanon which legal experts have called a potential war crime.

- William Christou

On 25 October at 3.19am, an Israeli jet dropped two bombs on a chalet hosting three journalists - cameraman Ghassan Najjar and technician Mohammad Reda from the pro-Hezbollah outlet al-Mayadeen, as well as cameraman Wissam Qassem from the Hezbollah-affiliated outlet al-Manar.

All three were killed and three other journalists staying nearby were wounded. There was no fighting in the area before or during the strike.

The Guardian visited the site, interviewed the owner of the property and journalists present at the time of the attack, analysed shrapnel found at the strike site, and geo-located Israeli surveillance equipment in range of the journalists' positions. Based on the Guardian's findings, three experts in international humanitarian law said the attack could constitute a war crime and called for further investigation.

"All the indications show that this would have been a deliberate targeting of journalists: a war crime. This was clearly delineated as a place where journalists were staying," said Nadim Houry, a human rights lawyer with the Arab Reform Initiative.

After the strike, the Israeli military said that it had struck a "Hezbollah military structure" while "terrorists were located inside the structure".

A few hours after the attack, the Israeli army said that the incident was "under review", following reports that journalists had been hit in the strike.

The Guardian found no evidence of Hezbollah military infrastructure at the site of the attack, nor that any of the journalists were anything but civilians.