How Hezbollah Scared Journalists Out Of Embedding With The IDF In Lebanon

In October, journalists from leading mainstream media outlets embedded with the Israeli Defense Forces on tours in Lebanon. But when Hezbollah threatened legal action against the journalists, they all abandoned ship — and a month later, none have returned.

The IDF organized the tours on September 30, October 11, and October 13 to expose Hezbollah’s vast terror infrastructure. Reporters were given a firsthand look at tunnels and weapons caches hidden in villages, and other Hezbollah resources Israel faces as it attempts to dismantle the terrorist group.

Among the outlets represented during the 90 to 120-minute visits were the BBC, CNN, Fox News, the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.

On October 12, BBC reporter Lucy Williamson published a report titled, “Inside Israel’s combat zone in southern Lebanon” about what she witnessed. In response, on October 14, Hezbollah condemned the BBC, accusing it of violating Lebanon’s sovereignty and calling for legal action against the outlet and its staff in Lebanon.

“Not only did the BBC, across all its platforms and languages, display blatant bias towards the killers and criminals, justifying the Zionist barbarism against the Palestinian and Lebanese people, but it also shamelessly sent a team of journalists who entered one of the southern villages accompanied by the occupying army, violating Lebanese territory, sovereignty, and laws, as shown in the reports published by the organization,” Hezbollah wrote.

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“Hezbollah’s Media Relations Office denounces this unjustifiable and unacceptable move as it calls on the Ministry of Information, the National Media Council, and relevant judicial and security authorities to take legal action against the BBC and its teams operating in Lebanon,” the statement added.

A subsequent statement reportedly expanded the condemnation to all outlets that participated.

An Israeli government official granted anonymity told The Daily Wire that several reporters said they could no longer participate in the tours for fear of the safety of their colleagues working in Lebanon. Not a single mainstream outlet has accepted an invitation to embed since Hezbollah issued its letter, but many are requesting access to travel to Gaza with the IDF, according to the source.

Following the BBC report, seven BBC Arabic employees suspended their work in protest over their colleague’s participation in the tour, Hezbollah-run outlet Al-Manar reported.

The employees, Sanaa al-Khoury, Mohammad Hamdar, Marie-Josee Azzi, and Joy Slim, and three others from the BBC Extra team, reportedly refused to return to work unless the BBC issued an apology or disciplined their colleagues who were embedded with the IDF. The BBC has not issued a formal apology or stated that they disciplined the team that entered Lebanon through Israel.

The Media Secretariat of the Lebanese Popular Conference urged the Lebanese government “to halt the operations of the BBC team in Lebanon due to its cooperation with the Zionist enemy forces and its violation of Lebanese laws and national sovereignty,” according to the Iranian regime-run outlet, PressTV.