Lebanese journalists Fatima Ftouni and Ali Shoeib, assassinated by the Zionist entity on March 28, 2026. Photo: Bint Jbeil Platforms.
The Zionist entity killed veteran Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib, Al-Mayadeen journalist Fatima Ftouni, and her brother, photojournalist Mohammad Ftouni, during a double-tap drone strike on a press vehicle in southern Lebanon on Saturday, March 28.
The Israeli attack wiped out the entire media team traveling together to deliver coverage of the Israeli invasion of Lebanonâs south. Media officials confirmed that the team was inside a clearly marked âPRESSâ vehicle when it was bombed.
Images show the car was moving along a forested road in the town of Jezzine with very little traffic due to the forced displacement of residents, confirming a deliberate targeted strike.
The area was then targeted again with a second strike after people attempted to provide aid. The Israeli military broadcast video of the attack, claiming that Shoeib was a âterrorist in the intelligence unit of Hezbollahâs Radwan Force.â
The Israeli vile enemy has released footage of the airstrike that targeted the car of Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib and Al-Mayadeen correspondent Fatima Ftouni in Jezzine along with her brother camera-man Mohamad Ftouni.
How utterly audacious and deeply criminal it is to not⊠https://t.co/D25mZgGflU pic.twitter.com/vXPhkvxKFl
â Marwa Osman || Ù Ű±ÙŰ© ŰčŰ«Ù Ű§Ù (@Marwa__Osman) March 28, 2026
“Once again, the Israeli aggression violates the most basic rules of international law, international humanitarian law, and the laws of war, by targeting journalists, who are ultimately civilians performing a professional duty,” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement on Saturday.
“This is a blatant crime that violates all the norms and treaties under which journalists enjoy international protection in wars,” he added.
Al-Manar TV mourned Shoeib, highlighting that he reported on events in southern Lebanon from before the 2000 liberation, through the July 2006 war, and the ongoing conflict. He also covered events in Syria and Iraq as part of his field reporting career.
âThe knight of resistance media has dismounted after a long struggle, and Al-Manarâs lens and platform have once again bled the most precious blood ⊠Al-Manar mourns him as a true media front, a support and companion to generations of resistance fighters, and a teacher and role model for generations of journalists,â the statement from the Lebanese broadcaster reads.
Shoeib was widely described as a âone-man army,â known for his bold frontline reporting and frequent direct confrontations with Israeli soldiers along the border, where he delivered real-time coverage of developments on the ground.
VIDEO | Footage shows late Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib confronting Israeli soldiers on 19 September 2022 in the occupied Shebaa Farms, south Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/iCqOqmqWNn
â The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 28, 2026
Al-Mayadeen mourned the killing of Ftouni by emphasizing that she âhad been in the field covering the ongoing Israeli aggression on Lebanon, doing the work she was known and loved for, bringing the reality of her people’s resistance to audiences around the world.â
“We pledge to her soul that we will remain committed to the message of resistance, freedom, and sovereignty,â Rony Alfa, the director of Al-Mayadeenâs office in Lebanon, said, adding that Fatima was âa heroine of Al-Mayadeen, the world, and Arab and international media.â
Western Silence Allows Israel To Get Away With Killing Journalists
Earlier in March, Ftouni lost seven members of her family in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese village of Toul, but continued reporting from high-risk areas regardless.
Before her assassination, Ftouni raised concerns about her familyâs safety in Toul to Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who made light of her concerns.
VIDEO | When the late Al-Mayadeen journalist Fatima Ftouni expressed her concern to Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam about her family living in the southern Lebanese village of Toul, Salam mockingly replied that she looked healthy and that there was a doctor in the room. pic.twitter.com/gS15gA8LN5
â The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 28, 2026
Earlier this year, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) listed Israel as the leading cause of death for journalists worldwide for the third consecutive year. In Lebanon alone, the Israeli army has killed at least 22 journalists, often claiming they were âterrorists,â an unsubstantiated allegation that is widely echoed across western media outlets.
