Three United Nations (UN) experts called for a full and independent investigation into the killing of three Lebanese journalists by Israel last week, which they described as ‘another attack on press freedom by Israeli forces.’
On March 28, Israeli forces killed Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni, her brother and cameraman Mohamed Ftouni, and Al Manar TV reporter Ali Shoeib as they were driving through southern Lebanon during a reporting assignment.
‘Journalists carrying out their professional duties in armed conflict are civilians and must not be targeted or made the object of attack,’ stated Irene Khan, Morris Tidball-Binz and Ben Saul.
‘The deliberate killing of journalists not directly participating in hostilities constitutes a serious violation of international human rights and humanitarian law and a war crime,’ they continued.
Israel accused Shoeib of being a fighter of the armed group Hezbollah, although later admitted that the image posted to justify the targeted killing was photoshopped, which the UN experts described as ‘a blatant demonstration of their disdain for international law.’
‘We denounce strongly what has now become a standard, dangerous practice of Israel to target and kill journalists and then claim, without providing any credible evidence, that they were involved with armed groups,’ continued the statement.
The United Nations special rapporteurs emphasised that working for media outlets affiliated with an armed group does not mean that journalists are directly participating in hostilities under international humanitarian law.
‘Israeli officials know this, yet they choose to ignore it - emboldened by impunity for their previous killings of journalists in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank,’ they stated.
At least 259 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel since 2023, including 210 Palestinian journalists in Gaza and 14 journalists in Lebanon.
‘The targeted killing of journalists is an abominable push by Israel to silence reporting on Israel’s current military action in Lebanon, and shut down news coverage of war crimes committed, just as it did in Gaza,’ stated the UN experts.
In February, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that Israel was responsible for two-thirds of all press killings in 2024 and 2025.
CPJ’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sara Qudah, stated that Lebanon has become ‘an increasingly deadly zone for journalists, despite their status as civilians who must not be targeted.’
‘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,’ she continued.
At least 1,345 people have been killed and 4,040 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks across Lebanon since early March, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Journalists and media workers have been widely targeted since the joint US-Israel attack on Iran. CPJ has documented multiple incidents of killings and attacks on journalists, as well as airstrikes on media infrastructure and restrictions on coverage in the region and globally.
