Lebanese leaders condemned the attack as a violation of international law, emphasizing the protection of journalists.
Photo : AP
Three Lebanese journalists were killed on Saturday in what their employers described as a targeted Israeli strike in southern Lebanon. The victims included Ali Shoeib, a correspondent for Al Manar TV, and two employees of Al Mayadeen — reporter Fatima Ftouni and cameraman Mohamed Ftouni.
According to the broadcasters, the strike hit their vehicle in the town of Jezzine shortly before noon local time. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it had targeted and killed Shoeib, describing him as a “terrorist” affiliated with Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force who had “operated for years under the guise of a journalist.”
The Israeli army claimed that Shoeib was “operating systematically to expose the locations of (Israeli) soldiers operating in southern Lebanon.” The army also accused him of maintaining contact with Hezbollah militants and inciting against Israeli troops and civilians, without elaborating.
Israeli officials did not comment on the deaths of Ftouni or Ftouni.
Lebanese leaders condemned the strike. President Joseph Aoun called it a “brazen crime” that violated the “most basic rules” of international law by targeting journalists, “who are ultimately civilians performing a professional duty.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the attack as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a clear breach of the rules that guarantee the protection of journalists in times of war.”
Meanwhile, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that it is probing the attack. “CPJ is investigating this latest attack on journalists in Lebanon which has been an increasingly deadly zone for journalists, despite their status as civilians who must not be targeted,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “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. Journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for.”
The World Health Organization said that eight other paramedics were killed on Saturday and seven more were wounded in five separate attacks on healthcare in southern Lebanon. “In Zoutar al-Sharqiya, five health workers were killed in a strike, and two were injured, one critically. Two more health workers were killed and three wounded in Kfar Tibnit; one paramedic died in an attack at a health facility in Ghandouriyeh, while another was killed in a strike in Jezzine. Two were wounded in an attack on Kfar Dajjal,” WHO’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have ratcheted up in recent weeks as the war in Iran has engulfed the entire region. On March 18, Israel was accused of killing a news presenter of Al Manar TV, Mohammad Sherri, and his wife in a strike on Beirut, the second time Tel Aviv has been accused of targetting journalists in recent weeks.
