Press freedom groups have sounded the alarm following a spate of apparently targeted killings by Israel of journalists in Lebanon.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was investigating the latest Israeli strike on Saturday that killed three journalists as they drove in a clearly marked press car along a highway in southern Lebanon.

Ali Shoaib, a well-known correspondent for Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar TV, journalist Fatima Ftouni of Al-Mayadeen TV, and her brother, freelance photojournalist Mohamad Ftouni, were traveling in the car near Jezzine when it was hit.

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A journalist for Al-Araby TV who walked the scene of the attack reported that Ftouni survived the first strike on the car, but was killed by a second strike that targeted her meters away.

In a statement that mirrored many it had issued throughout the war in Gaza, the Israeli military acknowledged carrying out the strike that killed the journalists, claiming Shoaib was a member of Hezbollah’s “Radwan” special forces unit and “moved for years disguised as a journalist.”

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X that Shoaib “systematically exposed the locations of Defense Army forces operating in southern Lebanon and along the border line.”

The Israeli military also posted a photograph of Shoaib dressed in military fatigues, but when asked by Fox News to provide the image, a spokesperson said: “Unfortunately there isn’t really a picture of it, it was photoshopped.”

It provided no evidence to support its claims that Shoaib was a Hezbollah combatant.

“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.”

Israel carried out similar targeted killings of journalists in Gaza during its two-year war on the territory, accusing them of being members of Hamas after the fact. In total, it killed 209 Palestinian journalists in Gaza throughout the conflict. The CPJ documented numerous unsubstantiated claims made by Israel about journalists it had killed in Gaza, including the case of Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif.

The killings on Saturday bring the toll of journalists killed in Lebanon to five since the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2.

Hussain Hamood, a freelance journalist who works with Al-Manar TV, was killed in an Israeli strike while filming in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on March 25, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Mohammad Sherri, who also worked for al-Manar TV, was killed in an Israeli strike in central Beirut on March 18.

Ftouni, who was killed on Saturday alongside her brother and Shoaib, had recently reported on the death of seven of her family members in an Israeli airstrike.

A total of 11 journalists have been killed by Israel in Lebanon since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Among that number were five journalists with the Beirut-based pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

Killings condemned by press groups, Hezbollah rivals

Al-Manar is owned by Hezbollah, but it is a civilian organization protected by international law. Hezbollah is a militant group, but also a political party with elected representatives in Lebanon’s parliament.

The strikes drew condemnation from press rights groups and leaders across Lebanon’s deeply divided political spectrum.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called it “a blatant crime that violates all norms and treaties under which journalists are granted international protection during armed conflicts”.

Lebanon’s Information Minister Paul Morcos said the attack was a “deliberate and blatant war crime against the media and the mission of journalism.”

“We adhere to international agreements that prioritize positive distinction for journalists, ensuring their protection and neutrality in times of war,” Morcos said.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), a global journalism union representing hundreds of thousands of members, also condemned the killings.

“Journalists are civilians protected by international humanitarian law. By deliberately targeting these three media professionals, the State of Israel is once again seriously violating this law,” said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.

“The IFJ demands an independent international investigation so that those responsible can be identified and prosecuted,” he added.

Record number of journalists killed

A CPJ report released in February found that 2025 was the deadliest on record for journalists, and that for the third year in a row, Israel killed more journalists and media workers than any other country.

Israel was responsible for 86 of the 129 journalists killed around the world in 2025—about two-thirds of the deaths, the CPJ found.

The death toll is the highest since the press freedom group started tracking the killing of journalists in 1992.