The Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate issued a strongly worded statement, strongly denouncing the massacre committed by Israel against three journalists: Fatima Fattouni, Ali Shuaib, and Muhammad Fattouni. They worked for the “Al-Mayadeen” and “Al-Manar” channels, and they died as a result of a bombing that directly targeted them while they were performing their work in reporting news.
The Syndicate described the martyrdom of these journalists as “a crime described by all standards,” stressing that this act reflects the “hostile and abolishing nature” that Israel adopts towards Lebanon, especially against media professionals who seek to document the events and convey them to the world.
The union also confirmed that targeting journalists is a flagrant violation of all international conventions, customs and protocols that prohibit any attack on media professionals, photographers and their technical teams working in conflict areas.
The union pointed out that this is not the first time that Israel has carried out such an act, as it had previously targeted journalists who were “defended except from their media tools,” as the statement put it.
The union called on the United Nations, the International Red Cross, UNESCO, the Human Rights Commission, and the Union of Arab Journalists to condemn this “massacre” and take a firm stance towards what it described as “crimes committed against journalists.”
At the conclusion of the statement, the union offered its sincere condolences to the families of the martyrs and to the “Al-Mayadeen” and “Al-Manar” institutions, considering that the journalists who were martyred “rank in an advanced rank among the martyrs.”
