In a tragic series of events, three Lebanese journalists lost their lives in southern Lebanon during an overnight airstrike by Israeli forces. The Israeli military claimed the attack was aimed at a specific reporter, leading to further casualties when a subsequent strike hit rescue workers attempting to provide aid.

Among the victims were Ali Shoeib, a well-known correspondent for Lebanese television news channel Al Manar, and Fatima Ftouni, a reporter for the Lebanese pan-Arab broadcaster Al Mayadeen. Their vehicle was reportedly struck during the assault, resulting in their deaths.

Shoeib was recognized for his extensive coverage of Israeli attacks on Lebanon, making him a prominent figure in war correspondence. Tragically, the attack also claimed the life of Ftouni’s brother, Mohammed, who worked as a cameraman. This loss was confirmed by Lebanon’s Information Minister, Paul Morcos.

In response, Israel’s military issued a statement asserting that Shaib, whom they labeled a “terrorist,” was the intended target due to his alleged involvement with a Hezbollah intelligence unit. The statement also accused him of inciting violence against Israeli soldiers and civilians, although it did not provide evidence for these claims and omitted any references to the other journalists who perished.

Israel’s military said in a statement it had killed Shaib, whom it called a “terrorist”, in a targeted strike, accusing him of being part of a Hezbollah intelligence unit, without providing any evidence to support the assertion.

The statement, which also accused Shaib of “incitement” against Israeli soldiers and civilians, did not mention the other journalists.

Hezbollah, which controls Al Manar, denied Shaib was part of one of its intelligence units.

“The enemy’s false claims are nothing but an expression of its weakness and fragility, and a desperate attempt to evade responsibility for this crime,” it said in a statement.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the journalists as “civilians doing their professional duty”.

“It is a brazen crime that violates all treaties and norms through which journalists enjoy international protection in war,” he said in a statement on X.

The overnight strike is the first time Israel has acknowledged killing a journalist in Lebanon.

Medics also killed

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the targeting of journalists was “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law”, while Morcos deemed the actions to be “war crimes”.

Lebanon’s health ministry said medics were directly targeted en route to the scene of an earlier strike on journalists.

More than 50 medical workers have been killed in Lebanon, including nine in the last day alone, in what the ministry described as an “escalating pace” of Israeli attacks on healthcare workers and facilities.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X in response to the killings that health workers were protected under international humanitarian law and “should never be targeted”, without mentioning Israel.

‘Journalists not targets’

In response to the killings, Reporters Without Borders said it had been raising the alarm for weeks about the growing risks facing media professionals.

Committee to Protect Journalists said: “Journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for”.

“We have seen a disturbing pattern in this war and in the decades prior of Israel accusing journalists of being active combatants and terrorists without providing credible evidence,” CPJ regional director Sara Qudah said on Sunday.

The killings followed the death of Hussain Hamood, a Lebanese freelance journalist working for Al Manar who the CPJ said on X was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday.

A strike on central Beirut earlier this month killed Mohammad Sherri, Al Manar’s political programs director.

At least three other reporters in Lebanon, Iran and Gaza have been killed in Israeli or joint US-Israeli airstrikes since the war began on 28 February, CPJ said on Thursday. The US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Israeli military.

Several journalists were also killed and wounded during the previous round of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023 and 2024.

An Israeli strike in October 2024 hit a collection of guesthouses housing only reporters in the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya, killing two journalists from Al Mayadeen and one from Al Manar, prompting global condemnation.

In October 2023, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed and six others wounded, including Agence France-Presse journalists Dylan Collins and Christina Assi while covering the conflict near the Israeli border.

An independent AFP investigation concluded that two Israeli 120mm tank shells were fired from the Jordeikh area inside Israel.

More than 1,180 people have been killed in Lebanon since US and Israel attacked Iran, according to the country’s authorities.

Strikes on south

On Saturday evening local time, Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier over Beirut, with residents across the country hearing loud booms.

Israel earlier launched a new series of raids on southern Lebanon, killing nine paramedics according to health minister Rakan Nassereddine.

The minister said four of the medics were from the Islamic Health Committee and were targeted by Israeli strikes while carrying out rescue missions, while five were from Risala Scouts, who were also on duty.

Since the start of the war, the health ministry has documented the deaths of 46 paramedics and five other healthcare workers in Lebanon due to Israeli strikes, the minister said.

The Lebanese army, meanwhile, announced the death of two of its soldiers, killed in Israeli airstrikes in the towns of Deir Zahrani and Kfar Tibnit. Military sources told AFP that the soldiers were not on duty.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported “a series of strikes” in the south early Saturday.

In Henniyeh, the health ministry said an Israeli strike killed seven people, six Syrians and one Lebanese, and wounded nine Syrians.

It said that another strike on Deir Zahrani killed seven people and wounded eight others.

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