An Israeli attack in southern Lebanon results in the deaths of three journalists reporting on the conflict.
An Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon on Saturday resulted in the deaths of three journalists reporting on the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict, according to their television stations.
Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV said that its veteran correspondent Ali Shoeib was slain in southern Lebanon. Israel’s military stated it had targeted Shoeib, alleging he was a Hezbollah intelligence operative, although failed to provide evidence.
Shoeib, a prominent Lebanese war correspondent, had reported on southern Lebanon for al-Manar TV for nearly thirty years.
Simultaneously, Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV reported that journalist Fatima Ftouni was murdered in the same airstrike in the southern region of Jezzine, along with her brother Mohammed, a video journalist. She had recently delivered a live report prior to the strike.
Senior officials in Lebanon denounced the strike, with President Joseph Aoun characterizing it as a “blatant crime that contravenes all laws and agreements safeguarding journalists.”
The Israeli army asserted that Shoeib was “systematically working to reveal the positions of (Israeli) soldiers in southern Lebanon.” He was also accused of maintaining communication with Hezbollah fighters and inciting hostility towards Israeli forces and civilians, without further details.
Al-Manar TV refrained from addressing the Israeli accusations but characterized its correspondent as “notable for his professional and credible reporting of events.”
Israel’s assertion reflected previous Israeli military accusations against Palestinian journalists, alleging that they were Hamas terrorists masquerading as reporters during the conflict in Gaza.
The Israeli military omitted reference to the two additional fatalities in its statement.
Since the commencement of the recent Israel-Hezbollah conflict on March 2, Israel’s air force has targeted Hezbollah’s civilian installations, including the Al-Manar TV headquarters and the Al-Nour radio station.
The strike on Saturday occurred shortly after an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut, which resulted in the deaths of Mohammed Sherri, the head of political programs at Al-Manar TV, and his wife.
The recent fatalities increase the total of journalists and media personnel murdered in Lebanon this year to five.
In the previous 24 hours, Hezbollah has fired approximately 250 rockets from Lebanon, as reported by an Israeli military official who requested anonymity in accordance with military protocols.
The official stated that the majority of the rockets targeted Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, with only 23 entering Israel.
The mortality rate increases.
The Health Ministry in Beirut reported 47 fatalities and 112 injuries in the last 24 hours. It was reported that 1,189 individuals had been deceased since March 2.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine reported that nine paramedics were killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday, increasing the total fatalities among healthcare workers to 51.
The Israeli military reported that nine troops sustained injuries in two assaults in southern Lebanon.