Israeli strike kills three Lebanese journalists, Al Manar TV says

By Nazih Osseiran

BEIRUT, March 28 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon has killed three Lebanese journalists, Lebanon's Al Manar TV reported on Saturday.

Al Manar reporter Ali Shaib and reporter Fatima Ftouni, from broadcaster Al Mayadeen, were killed when their vehicle was hit. Lebanon's information minister later said Ftouni's brother, cameraman Mohammed Ftouni, had also been killed in the strike.

Al Manar is controlled by the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and Al Mayadeen is widely seen as editorially aligned with Iran's allies and supporters in the region.

The Israeli military said in a statement it had "eliminated" Shaib, whom it described as a "terrorist" in a Hezbollah intelligence unit who had reported on the locations of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. It accused him of "incitement" against Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The statement made no mention of any other deaths and provided no evidence to support the assertion that Shaib was a member of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah denied the Israeli allegations, saying in a statement: "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.”

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.

Al Manar described Shaib as an "icon of resistance reporting." Al Mayadeen said Ftouni had been distinguished by her brave and objective coverage.

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

At least three other reporters across the Middle East have been killed in airstrikes since the Iran war began, CPJ said on Thursday. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Israeli military.

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.