By: Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
Canadian citizen and journalist, Laith Marouf, along with Hadi Hotait, were reporting for Free Palestine TV (FPTV) in the south of Lebanon, when the Israeli military attempted to assassinate them.
Laith Marouf described the attack to Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse.
"The Israeli military have been targeting media workers in Gaza and Lebanon, and even in the West Bank. We can remember before October 7 they assassinated Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank."
"And, now over 160 journalists have been martyred in Gaza, and of course here in Lebanon the Israelis have assassinated four journalists in the south. The enemy is vicious and they do not like people that do journalism work, because that brings the truth to the world. This is especially true for those who write in English."
"We were alone, and nobody was around us when we were targeted. Thank God the shells fell 200 meters away from us. There was a short cement fence which partially protected us, and the wind was blowing away from us, so the white phosphorus that fell in the first shell did not injure us, thank God."
According to Hotait, he and Marouf were near an open field taking photos when the shell landed on the edge of a house near them. Hotait told The Canada Files that this was obviously a targeted assassination attempt because there were no weapons or military assets in the area. Israel has a long history of killing journalists.
White Phosphorous was dropped by Israel, and soon afterwards an Israeli guided missile landed in the same area. The white phosphorous remains active, very toxic and flammable for much longer than previously known.
Lebanese researchers and experts are warning that Israel's tactics are causing long-term and potentially irreversible damage to south Lebanon's environment, agriculture and economy, potentially making it uninhabitable.
By March 6, 117 phosphoric bombs had been dropped on southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS).
Israel is using it as part of a larger strategy to push out civilians and make south Lebanon uninhabitable, now and in the future.
The Israeli military knows that white phosphorus is detrimental, that it reignites even up to a month after being dropped, and is toxic to the environment.
The Lebanese side is completely barren land, but the Israelis are cultivating down to the last inch before the border. The White Phosphorus used by Israel is effectively making the south of Lebanon uninhabitable.
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