3 Including Lebanese Journalist Fatima Fatouni Killed In Israeli Attack, Last Video Emerges

New Delhi: The last video of Lebanese journalist Fatima Fatouni who was among the three journalists killed in an Israeli airstrike has taken the internet by storm. The video depicted Fatouni on air with a live report from southern Lebanon, just before she was killed in Israeli strikes. 

The vehicle they were traveling in was targeted, near the city of Jezzine in southern Lebanon.

Along with Fatouni, the deceased included Al-Manar TV correspondent Ali Shuaib and a cameraman. The Israeli army has admitted the killing of Ali Shuaib.

How People Reacted to Fatima Fatouni Last Report

The latest video in which Fatima Fatouni was reporting on the war in Lebanon, has been shared on social media, triggering a flurry of reactions.

“This is heartbreaking. Seeing Fatima Fatouni's last message before such a tragic end hits hard. Her dedication to covering the truth in southern Lebanon, even in the face of danger, is beyond brave,” one of the users said.

“A tragic reminder of the price journalists pay to bring us the truth,” another user said.

Another user pointed out at the human lives that exists behind every story.

“Behind every headline is a human life… stories like this remind us how brutal conflict really is, especially for those on the ground just trying to report it…” he said.

The Strike that Killed 3

Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said that reporter Fatima Ftouni was killed in the same airstrike in the southern district of Jezzine along with her brother Mohammed, a video journalist.  Several top officials from Lebanon condemned the strike, with President Joseph Aoun calling it a “flagrant crime that violates all laws and agreements that protect journalists.”

Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV said that its longtime correspondent Ali Shoeib was killed Saturday in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said that it had targeted Shoeib, accusing him of being a Hezbollah intelligence operative without providing evidence.

Meanwhile, Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said reporter Fatima Ftouni was killed in the same airstrike in the southern district of Jezzine along with her brother Mohammed, a video journalist. She had just been on air with a live report from southern Lebanon before the strike.

Top officials in Lebanon condemned the strike, with President Joseph Aoun calling it a “flagrant crime that violates all laws and agreements that protect journalists.”

Al-Manar said in a report that an Israeli airstrike targeted journalists, leading to the “martyrdom of the icon of resistance media." A well-known Lebanese war correspondent, Shoeib had covered south Lebanon for Al-Manar for nearly three decades.

The Israeli army claimed that Shoeib was “operating systematically to expose the locations of (Israeli) soldiers operating in southern Lebanon.” The army also accused him of maintaining contact with Hezbollah militants and inciting against Israeli troops and civilians, without elaborating.

Al-Manar TV did not respond to the Israeli allegations but described its correspondent as “distinguished by his professional and credible reporting of events.” Israel’s claim mirrored past Israeli military allegations against Palestinian journalists that it targeted in its war on Hamas the Gaza Strip, accusing them of being Hamas militants posing as reporters. The Israeli military did not mention the two others who died in its statement.

Since the last Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, Israel’s air force has struck Hezbollah’s civilian targets, including the headquarters of Al-Manar and the group’s Al-Nour radio station. Saturday’s strike came days after an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed Mohammed Sherri, the head of political programs at Al-Manar TV, along with his wife.

The latest deaths bring the number of journalists and media workers killed this year in Lebanon to five. The Committee to Protect Journalists said that freelance photojournalist Hussain Hamood, who used to collaborate with Al-Manar TV, was also killed Wednesday in the southern city of Nabatiyeh.

Hezbollah vs Israelis in Lebanon

Israel has moved thousands of troops across the border into Lebanon, and Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants have been fighting on the ground for at least three weeks. 

Israeli officials said they want to take control of the entire area south of the Litani River, some 20 miles (about 30 kilometers) north of the border, and that displaced Lebanese residents will not be allowed back until Israel decides that its northern border is safe. 

While Lebanese officials claim that Israel has violated Lebanon’s sovereignty and is seeking to occupy Lebanese land, Israel maintains that its actions are defensive and meant to prevent Hezbollah from firing missiles into northern Israel. 

The War In The Gulf

Meanwhile, the war in the Gulf which started off on February 28 has dragged on for weeks. The United States and Israel had launched joint airstrikes on Iran in a massive military operation, codenamed ‘Operation Epic Fury’ by the US and ‘Operation Roaring Lion’ by Israel.

Iran retaliated and launched attacks on US military bases located in different countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Iran codenamed its retaliation 'Operation True Promise IV'. However, Iran has also effectively blockaded the word's most critical energy chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, thereby turning on the pressure on US and its Gulf partners.

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