An Israeli attack killed three Lebanese journalists.
More than a dozen journalists from at least seven media outlets were using a guesthouse in a Hasbaya compound when the attack occurred. There was a courtyard with automobiles that were obviously marked "press."
The three men were employed by broadcasters Al-Manar TV and Al Mayadeen TV, both of which released comments honoring their fallen staff members.
The information minister for Lebanon called the attack a "war crime" and said it was intentional.
Although it has denied targeting journalists in the past, the Israeli military has not yet responded.
Camera operators Wissam Qassem of the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar and Ghassan Najjar and Mohamed Reda of the pro-Iranian news channel Al Mayadeen were among those killed.
Three more people were hurt in the explosion, according to the Lebanese ministry of health.
Issam Abdallah of Reuters was one of five journalists murdered in previous Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Al-Jadeed TV, whose reporters were also inside the house, aired footage of a bombed-out building with a collapsed roof and rubble-covered floors.
A TV broadcasting vehicle was flipped onto its side, its satellite dish smashed by surrounding cabling.
The fact that this residence was being used as a journalist's stay-house was communicated to all official parties. In a live broadcast, an Al-Jadeed journalist covered in concrete dust, gasping and panting, stated, "We coordinated with them all."
When the situation in the south of the country got too perilous, Lebanese journalists reporting it had to move from nearby Marj'youn to Hasbaya.
Journalists in the compound were awakened by the strike at approximately 03:00 local time (01:00 BST), Youmna Fawwaz, a reporter for network MTV Lebanon, told the BBC.
According to her, they were encircled by dust and debris, ceilings had collapsed on top of them, and fighter jets could be heard flying overhead.
She claimed that each news organization had an own structure within the enclosure, and that the Al Mayadeen reporters' facility was "obliterated" while Al-Manar staff were inside.
According to Ms. Fawwaz, both Israel and Hezbollah refer to it as a media compound.
"The airstrike was intentionally carried out. Everyone was aware of our presence. The cars were all marked TV and press. We weren't even issued a warning.
"They are attempting to terrorize us in the same manner that they do in Gaza," she continued. The Israelis are attempting to stop us from reporting on the story.
Israel has been accused by Lebanon's information minister of deliberately targeting journalists in violation of international law.
"The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists' nighttime break to betray them in their sleep," Ziad Makary wrote on X.
"This is an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with prior planning and design, as there were 18 journalists there representing seven media institutions."
Hasbaya is home to Christians, Muslims, and members of the Druze ethnic and religious minority. It is located roughly five miles (eight kilometers) from the Israeli border.
This was the first attack on the village proper, although there had been strikes on its outskirts in recent weeks.
Israel has been stepping up airstrikes in Lebanon for weeks and has also launched a land assault of southern border towns and villages as part of the escalating conflict.
UN troops reported on Friday that they had to leave an observation post in the southwest city of Zahajra after Israeli forces fired on them earlier this week.
In the last three weeks, Lebanese officials have documented more than 1,700 airstrikes throughout the nation.
The day after Hamas attacked Israel in October, killing almost 1,200 people, Israel and Hezbollah began to engage in hostilities.
According to Lebanon's health ministry, the present battle has claimed the lives of about 2,600 people, with many of those casualties taking place since Israel started to intensify its attacks on September 23.
The Israeli government has stated that getting the 60,000 or so individuals who have been displaced by Hezbollah rocket fire back to their homes is a top priority.
According to data, around 3,600 structures in Lebanon seem to have sustained damage or been completely demolished between October 2 and October 14, accounting for almost 54% of all damage.
Days before the Israeli military accused six Al Jazeera journalists in northern Gaza of having ties to Hamas or other armed Palestinian factions, the Israeli military launched the attack on journalists in Lebanon.
Since Israel began its war in Gaza last year, at least 123 Palestinian journalists and media professionals have been killed there, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Since then, more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health authority operated by Hamas in Gaza.
The fighting has also claimed the lives of two Israeli journalists.
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