The Committee to Protect Journalists said it is investigating, warning that journalists must not be treated as legitimate military targets. Information minister Paul Morcos said Beirut will take the case to the UN, calling the Israel strike a “blatant war crime.”
BY PC Bureau
March 29, 2026: A journalist working for Hezbollah-affiliated broadcaster Al Manar, Ali Shuaib, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the vehicle he was traveling in, according to the channel.
The Israeli military said Shuaib was “a terrorist operating under the guise of a journalist,” alleging he had been exposing the positions of Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. No evidence was publicly presented alongside the claim.
Al Manar described Shuaib as an “icon of resistance media” in its announcement of his death.
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BREAKING: Israel has just assassinated two journalists, Fatima Ftouni & Ali Shuaib, in South Lebanon in a targeted strike.
Over 280 journalists have now been killed by Israel in Gaza & South Lebanon.
Israel has killed 3.5 times more journalists than in both World Wars. All to… pic.twitter.com/U6nh74j60h
— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) March 28, 2026
Multiple Journalists Among the Dead
Pro-Iran outlet Al Mayadeen reported that two additional journalists, siblings Fatima and Mohammad Ftouni, were also killed in the same strike.
Lebanon’s presidency condemned the attack as a “blatant crime,” accusing Israel of violating international humanitarian law by targeting civilians engaged in journalistic work.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it is investigating the incident, stressing that “journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for.”
“We have seen a disturbing pattern… of Israel accusing journalists of being combatants without providing credible evidence,” the CPJ added.
Lebanon to Take Complaint to UN
Lebanon’s information minister, Paul Morcos, said the government would file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council, calling the strike a “deliberate and blatant war crime against the media.”
“We adhere to international agreements that ensure the protection and neutrality of journalists in times of war,” he said.
Israel, which is intensifying operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon, did not comment on the reported deaths of the Ftouni siblings.
Grief and Anger at the Scene
Footage aired by Al Mayadeen showed the charred remains of the vehicle struck in the attack. Journalist Jamal Al-Gharabi stood at the scene holding a damaged press vest, his voice breaking as he said it “was supposed to protect” his colleagues.
In another video, the father of Fatima and Mohammad Ftouni said he was “proud” of his children despite the loss. “The heart is in pain… but we do not break,” he said.
Al-Gharabi questioned the effectiveness of international protections for journalists, asking: “Where are the laws that protect civilians?”
Echoes of Earlier Attacks
The strike recalls a previous incident in October 2024, when Fatima Ftouni survived an Israeli attack on a compound housing journalists in southern Lebanon—an incident the CPJ said killed two journalists and a media worker.
In footage from that time, she stood before wreckage holding her press vest, helmet, and microphone, calling them “the weapon that we carry.”
The latest killings are likely to intensify scrutiny of press safety in conflict zones, as concerns grow over the risks faced by journalists covering the escalating Israel-Hezbollah confrontation.
