German reporter was arrested in Lebanon after giving live interview to Israeli TV from Beirut

Germany’s Bild news site says that several of its journalists were arrested in Beirut and taken for questioning the day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination.

The outlet says correspondent Paul Ronzheimer and his team were taken from their hotel rooms, handcuffed and blindfolded, to an unknown location. While describing those who made the arrest as “unknown men,” Bild also adds that they are “said” to have been members of Lebanon’s military intelligence service.

While the outlet doesn’t note the reason for the arrests, Hebrew media notes that they came a day after Ronzheimer gave a live TV interview to Israel’s Kan public broadcaster. It was possibly the first live broadcast from Beirut on Israeli television since the IDF withdrew from the Lebanese capital in 1982.

Bild says Ronzheimer was released later the same day, after Germany’s embassy in Beirut contacted Lebanese authorities, who intervened. He then continued reporting but was forced to leave Lebanon, only after which Bild has now revealed the ordeal.

כעת ניתן לספר שכתב המלחמות של העיתון הגרמני הנפוץ BILD, פול רונצהיימר, נעצר בביירות ביום שלאחר חיסול נסראללה לאחר שהתראיין לתכנית ״חדשות שישי״ עם מואב ורדי בשידור חי מביירות. pic.twitter.com/IyUq25tdOz

— Dov Gil-Har (@DovGilHar) October 9, 2024