Three United Nations special rapporteurs have condemned the killing of three journalists in Lebanon and called for an independent and comprehensive investigation. They described the incident as another brutal attack by Israeli forces on press freedom. The experts—Irina Khan, Morris Tidball-Binz, and Ben Saul—stated that journalists performing their professional duties during armed conflict are civilians and must not be targeted or attacked.

According to the report, Israeli forces carried out a targeted strike on March 28 in southern Lebanon, killing Al Mayadeen journalist Fatima Fattouni, her brother and freelance photojournalist Mohammad Fattouni, and Al-Manar’s Ali Shoaib. The UN experts emphasized that the deliberate killing of journalists not directly involved in combat constitutes a serious violation of international human rights and humanitarian law and may amount to a war crime.

Al Mayadeen and Al-Manar are Hezbollah-aligned media outlets. Israel accused Shoaib of being a fighter for the Lebanese armed group but did not present any evidence to support the claim.