A Lebanese journalist holds pictures of their colleagues, Fatima Ftouni and Ali Shoeib, at Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut during a protest against their killing from an Israeli strike that targeted their vehicle on a road leading to Jezzine in southern Lebanon. AFP
Speaking at an emergency press conference, Information Minister Paul Morcos said the ministry had moved beyond issuing condemnations and was taking “practical steps” in coordination with the foreign ministry.
“We have provided the foreign ministry with all the information and lists we have regarding the targeting of journalists in the recent period,” he said, according to National News Agency.
Morcos said Lebanon was working to finalise a complaint to be submitted to international forums, including the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
He added that Lebanese officials had shared the information with UN Special Coordinator Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and were set to meet the European Union ambassador in Beirut in the coming days.
“We are also in contact with UNIFIL and other international bodies, and we will spare no effort to put an end to these attacks on civilians and journalists,” he said.
The minister began the conference by calling for a minute of silence in memory of those killed, including several journalists.
He named reporter Fatima Ftouni, cameraman Mohammad Ftouni and correspondent Ali Shuaib among those killed Saturday in the ongoing Israeli attacks, as well as other victims including a soldier, medics and civilians.
“These are martyrs of Lebanon and martyrs of journalism,” Morcos said.
He stressed that the targeting of journalists and civilians violated international law, citing provisions of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, which mandate the protection of civilians and specifically journalists in conflict zones.
“These texts are essential for us. They are the legal and binding reference we adhere to,” he said.
Morcos added that such acts fall under the classification of war crimes, arguing that international legal standards, including those underpinning the International Criminal Court, are binding as customary law regardless of formal ratification.
“We will not consider what has happened and continues to happen — the repeated and deliberate targeting of journalists — as normal, nor will we accept it,” he said.
Earlier Saturday, Israel killed three Lebanese journalists in an air strike in southern Lebanon, continuing its attacks on media personnel covering its atrocities in the region.
Ali Shoeib of Al Manar channel and Fatima Ftouni of Al Mayadeen were killed in the southern town of Jezzine, along with Ftouni’s brother, a cameraman.
Al Mayadeen and Al Manar confirmed the deaths.
Israel has assassinated dozens of journalists covering its wars in Lebanon and Gaza since 2023, drawing regional and international condemnation from journalists and rights groups.
The new fatalities raise the toll of journalists and media workers killed in Lebanon alone to five this year and to 11 since the genocidal war on Gaza started in 2023, according to figures by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
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