Three Lebanese journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on their car in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
Al Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib, Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni and her brother, cameraman Mohammed Ftouni, were killed when their vehicle was hit. Videos from the aftermath showed press vests and helmets among the wreckage of the charred car.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the journalists as “civilians doing their professional duty”.
“It is a blatant crime that violates all treaties and norms under which journalists enjoy international protection in war,” he said in a statement on X.
A prominent Lebanese war correspondent, Mr Shoeib had covered south Lebanon for Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar for nearly three decades. Al Manar described Mr Shoeib as an “icon of resistance reporting”, while Al Mayadeen said Ms Ftouni had been distinguished by her brave and objective coverage.
Both outlets are widely seen as aligned with Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and its regional allies.
Journalists are protected under international humanitarian law, and the deliberate targeting of media workers is a war crime regardless of their political affiliations.
The Israeli military said it had “eliminated” journalist Ali Shoeib in an air strike in southern Lebanon, claiming, without providing evidence, that he was a member of the group’s elite Radwan Force.
The military said the journalist had provided intelligence on Israeli troop positions while working for Al Manar. It accused him of “incitement” against Israeli soldiers and civilians.
It is the first time Israel has publicly acknowledged targeting a journalist in Lebanon
The statement made no mention of the other two who died.
Hezbollah denied the Israeli allegations, calling them "false claims".
At least five journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli strikes this year, including Lebanese freelance journalist Hussain Hamood, who worked for Al Manar. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an impartial investigation into his killing.
It also killed Mohammed Sherri, the head of political programmes at Al Manar TV, along with his wife, in an Israeli air strike on an apartment in central Beirut.
Since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict began on March 2, Israel’s air force has struck what it says are civilian institutions linked to the group, including health, media and financial organisations.
Israel also killed nine medics in south Lebanon on Saturday, including four from the Islamic Health Committee who were killed while carrying out rescue missions, and five from the Risala Scouts who were also on duty.
A resident told The National the five medics from the Risala Scouts were killed when their ambulance was hit during a funeral in the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar.
Israeli attacks have killed around 50 medical workers in Lebanon since March 2. Human rights groups have warned that Israel's repeated strikes on medical and rescue personnel in Lebanon may amount to war crimes.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces opened heavy fire on a civilian car in the Al-Aouinat area between Rmeish and Debel, two Christian-majority villages, killing a man and his son.
A separate attack in the village of al Hananieh killed five Syrian farmers, according to Lebanon's News Agency (NNA).
The Ministry of Public Health said the total number of people killed since March 2 had risen to 1,189, while the number of wounded had reached 3,427.
