Lebanon’s president says more journalists killed in Israeli attack Condemning ‘blatant crime’
Published: March 28, 2026
Three Lebanese journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a clearly marked press vehicle in southern Lebanon.
Other journalists were also injured and a paramedic was killed in the attack.
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Fatima Ftouni and her brother and colleague Ali Shuaib of Al Mayadeen and Al-Manar were killed when four precision missiles hit their vehicle on Jezzine Road on Saturday, according to Al Mayadeen.
When the ambulance arrived, it was reported that paramedics were also targeted and one person was killed. Al Mayadeen and Al-Manar confirmed the journalist’s death.
The Israeli military acknowledged the attack, claiming that Shuaib belonged to Hezbollah’s intelligence unit and was tracking Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon. It was also alleged that he distributed Hezbollah propaganda.
His employer, Al-Manar, described him as one of the most prominent war correspondents who has covered Israel’s attacks on Lebanon for decades.
Israel, which has killed more than 270 journalists in the Gaza Strip, often claims, without providing evidence, that the journalists it targets are members of or linked to armed groups.
Neither network accepted the Israeli characterization.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israel had once again violated the most basic rules of international law by targeting civilians carrying out their professional duties.
“It is a blatant crime that violates all norms and treaties granting international protection to journalists during armed conflict,” he said, citing the 1949 Geneva Conventions and UN Security Council Resolution 1738.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the attack as a “clear violation of international humanitarian law.”
6 Al Mayadeen journalists dead in a matter of weeks
For Ftouni, the war has already hit close to home. Earlier this month, her uncle and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike, and she reported the news live.
Al Mayadeen has now lost six journalists since hostilities began. Farah Omar, Rabih Me’mari, Ghassan Najjar and Mohammad Reda were killed in the earlier attack.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 1,142 people have been killed and more than 3,300 wounded in Israeli attacks since March 2. The regional conflict is rapidly escalating and is now entering its fourth week.
The Israeli army advanced further south towards the Litani River. Hezbollah claimed to have carried out dozens of operations against Israeli forces in the past 24 hours.
One Lebanese soldier was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the village of Deir al-Zahrani in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state news agency reported.
Saturday’s killings fit a pattern that press freedom groups have been tracking with alarm.
The Committee to Protect Journalists recorded a global record of 129 journalists killed in 2025, the most since it began collecting data 30 years ago, with Israel responsible for two-thirds of them.
More journalists have now been killed in the country than in any other country on CPJ’s records.
Earlier this month, another attack in central Beirut killed al-Manar’s political program director, Mohammad Sherri.
