(SeaPRwire) – Press freedom organizations have raised alarm after a series of apparent targeted killings of journalists in Lebanon carried out by Israel.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says it is investigating the latest Israeli strike from Saturday that killed three journalists while they drove a clearly marked press vehicle along a highway in southern Lebanon.
Ali Shoaib, a prominent correspondent for Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar TV, Fatima Ftouni, a journalist for Al-Mayadeen TV, and her brother Mohamad Ftouni, a freelance photojournalist, were traveling in the car near Jezzine when it was struck.
An Al-Araby TV reporter who visited the attack scene reported that Ftouni survived the first strike on the vehicle, but was killed by a second strike that targeted her just meters away.
In a statement that mirrors many it has released throughout the war in Gaza, the Israeli military acknowledged carrying out the strike that killed the journalists, claiming Shoaib was a member of Hezbollah’s “Radwan” special forces unit and “operated for years disguised as a journalist.”
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X that Shoaib “systematically exposed the locations of Israeli Defense Forces operating in southern Lebanon and along the border.”
The Israeli military also shared a photo that purported to show Shoaib in military fatigues, but when Fox News asked to receive the original image, a spokesperson said: “Unfortunately there is no actual original picture, it was photoshopped.”
Israel has provided no evidence to back up its claim that Shoaib was a Hezbollah combatant.
“CPJ is investigating this latest attack on journalists in Lebanon, which has become an increasingly deadly area for reporters despite their status as civilians that must not be targeted,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah.
“We have seen a disturbing pattern during this war and for decades before: Israel accuses journalists of being active combatants and terrorists without offering credible evidence. Journalists are never legitimate targets, no matter which media outlet they work for.”
Israel carried out similar targeted killings of journalists in Gaza during its two-year war on the territory, accusing killed journalists of being Hamas members after their deaths. In total, Israel has killed 209 Palestinian journalists in Gaza over the course of the conflict. CPJ has documented dozens of unsubstantiated claims Israel made about journalists it killed in Gaza, including the case of Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif.
Saturday’s killings bring the total number of journalists killed in Lebanon to five since the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2.
Hussain Hamood, a freelance journalist who works with Al-Manar TV, was killed in an Israeli strike while filming in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on March 25, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Mohammad Sherri, who also worked for al-Manar TV, was killed in an Israeli strike in central Beirut on March 18.
Ftouni, who was killed Saturday alongside her brother and Shoaib, had recently reported on the deaths of seven of her family members in an earlier Israeli airstrike.
A total of 11 journalists have been killed by Israel in Lebanon since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023. Five of these journalists worked for Beirut-based pan-Arab network al-Mayadeen TV.
The Killings Condemned by Press Groups and Hezbollah’s Political Rivals
Al-Manar is owned by Hezbollah, but is itself a civilian organization protected by international law. Hezbollah is a militant group, but also a political party with elected representatives in Lebanon’s parliament.
The strike drew condemnation from press rights groups and leaders across Lebanon’s deeply divided political spectrum.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the strike “a blatant crime that violates all norms and treaties that grant journalists international protection during armed conflicts”.
Lebanon’s Information Minister Paul Morcos said the attack was a “deliberate and blatant war crime against media and the mission of journalism.”
“We abide by international agreements that prioritize protected status for journalists, guaranteeing their safety and neutrality in wartime,” Morcos said.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), a global journalism union representing hundreds of thousands of members, also condemned the killings.
“Journalists are civilians protected by international humanitarian law. By deliberately targeting these three media professionals, the State of Israel has once again seriously violated this law,” said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.
“The IFJ demands an independent international investigation so that those responsible can be identified and prosecuted,” he added.
A Record Number of Journalists Killed By Israel
A CPJ report released in February found that 2025 was the deadliest year on record for journalists, and that for the third consecutive year, Israel killed more journalists and media workers than any other country.
CPJ found Israel was responsible for 86 of the 129 journalists killed around the world in 2025 — roughly two-thirds of all journalist deaths that year.
This death toll is the highest recorded since the press freedom group began tracking journalist killings in 1992.
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