Havana - Saba:
The Cuban Journalists' Union condemned in a statement the crime committed by the Zionist enemy against journalists at their residence in the Hasbaya area of Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, which occurred early yesterday morning, Friday.
The statement said on Saturday, "This crime is another Zionist war against the press," emphasizing: "Stop this genocide now!"
It added that "the occupying army is trying to silence Al-Mayadeen network, Al-Manar channel, and other Arab media outlets," which it stressed are "considered pillars of media resistance against the genocide being perpetrated against the peoples of Palestine, Lebanon, and their neighbors in this region of the world."
The statement expressed the "deep solidarity of the Cuban Journalists' Union with those media outlets, their administrations, and their workers," while simultaneously condemning the "deliberate and criminal aggression that took place on Friday against a residential complex inhabited by several journalists, photographers, and technicians from various media outlets."
It noted the martyrdom of photographer Ghassan Najar and engineer Muhammad Reda from Al-Mayadeen in this attack, as well as photographer Wissam Qassem from Al-Manar channel.
The statement from the Cuban Journalists' Union noted that the courage and bravery demonstrated by our colleagues in these media outlets, and their steadfastness in targeted areas to expose the aggressors and accomplices, risking their lives, "honors the struggle and resistance of their peoples."
The statement recalled the awarding of the Al-Karama Prize to the Al-Mayadeen Network during the "Third International Meeting - Patria," which took place last March in Havana, stating that at the same time, "media workers were revealing the truth of these crimes, including hundreds of Palestinian journalists, who were the targets of these brutal attacks, embodying the dignity of peoples fighting against Zionism and its imperialist allies."
The statement continued that on this painful occasion, Cubans extend a fraternal greeting to the Chairman of the Board of the Al-Mayadeen Media Network, Mr. Ghassan Ben Jeddou, who received the Al-Karama Prize at the "Patria" international meeting and held "Israel" responsible for the new war crime aimed at eliminating teams of journalists, not just the Al-Mayadeen team, also affirming that "Al-Mayadeen does not consider its team an exclusive target of this aggression, but sees it as an attack on journalism as a whole under the cover of darkness."
Ben Jeddou added, according to the statement, that "the occupation takes pleasure in killing journalists who expose its crimes, and therefore hates them viciously," and in this context, the Cuban Journalists' Union sent greetings to the heads of all resistance media outlets.
The statement viewed that "Al-Mayadeen has become a continuous target for aggressors," noting that in November 2023, an Israeli drone attacked the Al-Mayadeen team in southern Lebanon, resulting in the martyrdom of two colleagues, Farah Omar and Rabi' Al-Mamari.
The statement also mentioned the occupation's recent confrontation with a media office in Beirut, and thus it noted that "these attacks on the press will not stop unless the occupiers are held accountable for their heinous war crimes that are committed with the support and sponsorship of the United States and its allies."
In conclusion, the statement pointed out that just as millions around the world, including Cubans, who recently protested across the country, the Cuban Journalists' Union is also demanding a "stop to the genocide now."
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