Anger as Hezbollah-affiliated network is allowed to broadcast from Majdal Shams

A reporter for Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen broadcast today from Majdal Shams, a day after a rocket fired by the terror group on a soccer field in the Druze town in the Golan Heights killed 12 children.

The channel’s Hanaa Mahameed broadcasts from the town, with an onscreen strip saying it is in “the occupied Syrian Golan.” Israel seized the territory from Syria in 1967, after the latter attacked Israel, and Jerusalem annexed it in 1981. Most of the international community does not recognize the annexation.

היי מדינת ישראל, אני רק הערה

ערוץ אלמיאדין *המקורב לחזבאללה* משדר *היום* ממג'דל שמס שב"גולן הסורי הכבוש", כך כתבו למעלה במסך, יום אחרי הטבח שביצע חזבאללה במקום. pic.twitter.com/ILwQ5An7mo

— עומרי חיים | Omri Haim (@HaimOmri) July 28, 2024

The reporter falsely claims the kids were hit by an Israeli strike.

The incident draws criticism and scrutiny of the fact that, while Al Mayadeen’s broadcasts in the country were temporarily banned in November, this measure expired in January.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says: “The military is invited to take [Mahameed] and throw her across the border. Letting a Hezbollah reporter broadcast from the scene of the massacre Hezbollah committed is absurd on every level.”

He adds that shutting down Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera was prioritized earlier this year, but that further barring Al Mayadeen from operating in Israel is still in process.