When Yehia Kassem, chief correspondent for the Arabic-language Al-Hurra channel, entered Southern Lebanon to cover the recent escalation, he witnessed firsthand what many Lebanese have already encountered; widespread destruction, Hezbollah's terror infrastructure embedded beneath civilian areas, and mass displacement of residents.
"You could see how this area has truly become a battleground," Kassem said, referring to both his reports- one on the near-empty border town of Al-Khiyam whose residents were instructed to evacuate, and the other on the advanced tunnel Hezbollah built, disguised as a clothes store in the area.
Kassem's rare on-the-ground reporting in Arabic from an area controlled by Hezbollah for decades caught attention across the Arab world. The reports quickly gained traction with nearly 250,000 views in just 24 hours. After they were broadcast and circulated on social media- exposing the organization's military activity, a debate was sparked, with some expressing condemnation for presenting what they called the 'Zionist narrative,' while others acknowledged Hezbollah's actions and ties to Iran.
"Who allowed you to go inside Al-Khiyam? Did you get permission from the people there- the owners of the land?" read one post on X. Another wrote, "This is none of your business, leave us alone. It is our territory and we are free to build tunnels."
Some even denounced the images as a "lie", claiming they were taken from "Occupied Palestine" (Gaza).
Serving Israeli interests and affiliating with the 'enemy'
Others accused Al-Hurra, a US-based outlet supported by Washington, of serving Israeli interests and affiliating with the 'enemy'. The fact that Kassem was accompanied by the IDF's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya- known as Captain Ella, and interviewed an officer inside the tunnel seems to have drawn further criticism.
"Some people have a hard time facing the facts," Kassem told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "My job is to bring reality as it is. We (Al-Hurra) were the first Arabic-speaking media outlet to get inside Southern Lebanon to show what's happening there. Unfortunately, there is a lot of disinformation spreading today, and our duty as journalists is to describe what we see without filters or fear of criticism," he said.
"I believe it's important to expose the truth, even if it is inconvenient or disturbing to some people," Kassem noted.
"You have to report impartially and not worry about whether people will like it or not. At the core of our work is the commitment to accuracy- not popularity. Telling people only what they want to hear is just wrong," he added.
Kassem explained that media outlets are supposed to be critical and expose different sides of the story. "Just a few days before my story in Lebanon, I did a report on the ongoing attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and how no one has managed to stop this phenomenon،" he stressed.
Presenting Hezbollah as a legitimate organization instead of questioning it
However, when it comes to the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, he said, some simply present it as a legitimate organization instead of questioning its record of terror practices.
"When I went down into the tunnel 25 meters underground, I saw how many resources had been invested in it. It was advanced and sophisticated," he said, citing Hezbollah's military buildup, which has not only posed a threat to Israel but also brought repeated rounds of war upon Lebanon over the years.
Reactions to Kassem's reports from Southern Lebanon were mixed as some viewers expressed resentment towards Hezbollah's actions. "They (Hezbollah's militants) hide among innocent residents and use their homes to fight the enemy. Then, in the moment of confrontation they flee as rats," said one comment. "When there are strikes, civilians are killed and then they (Hezbollah) come out of hiding and claim victory, wrote another on social media.
Kassem noted that some people even showed curiosity and a desire to learn more. "Our report made Arabs living in the region think and realize that reality is complex- not simply black or white," he said.
"It led people to want to know more and seek credible information," he highlighted. "I can see now that people are thirsty for more details and perspectives that they usually cannot find in the platforms they usually consume. So, it has opened a window for those who look for sides of the story that are usually less familiar to them, and this is good thing," Kassem concluded.