All three people who died in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon were television journalists, it has been confirmed.
The Lebanese trio were travelling in a car when they were killed on Saturday.
Fatima Ftouni, an Al Mayadeen reporter, and Ali Shoaib, an Al Manar correspondent, were among those who died.
It has emerged the third person killed was Ms Ftouni’s brother, cameraman Mohammed Ftouni.
Fatima Ftouni had done a live report from southern Lebanon just before the strike in the Jezzine region.
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Al Manar described Mr Shoaib as an “icon of resistance reporting”, while Al Mayadeen said Fatima Ftouni had been distinguished by her brave and objective reporting.
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Sky’s special correspondent Alex Crawford said: “There has been strong condemnation of the attacks on the three journalists. They were travelling along one of the main roads in the south of Lebanon.
“The two senior correspondents were very well known in Lebanon.”
She added: “On top of these attacks against the journalists today… Israeli airstrikes have also killed seven medical workers… in a string of attacks across south Lebanon. There have also been a number of children killed.”
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said the attack on the journalists was a war crime.
He added: “We strongly condemn this aggression and demand that all international bodies take action to stop what is happening on our land, and we reiterate our condolences to the families of the martyrs and to the journalistic and media community in Lebanon.”
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) described the bombing as a “targeted strike” and claimed that Ali Shoaib was “a terrorist in the intelligence unit of Hezbollah‘s Radwan Force”.
It added: “Additionally, the terrorist engaged in incitement against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, using his position as a channel to disseminate Hezbollah propaganda materials.”
The military’s statement made no mention of the other casualties.
In a statement, Iran-backed Hezbollah denied the IDF’s claim.
It said: “The enemy’s false claims are nothing but an expression of its weakness and fragility, and a desperate attempt to evade responsibility for this crime.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described Al Manar as a “Hezbollah-affiliated” channel and Al Mayadeen as being “pro-Hezbollah”.
But it said that journalists were “not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for”.
CPJ’s regional director Sara Qudah said it was investigating, adding: “We have seen a disturbing pattern in this war and in the decades prior of Israel accusing journalists of being active combatants and terrorists without providing credible evidence.”
The CPJ said at least four other journalists had died across the Middle East since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February.
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The IDF has denied deliberately targeting journalists in conflicts such as the war in Gaza.
Lebanon’s information minister Paul Morcos said his ministry and the foreign ministry were preparing to file a complaint to the UN Security Council over Israel’s targeting of journalists.
In a statement, Mr Morcos “stressed that Lebanon will not treat such attacks as normal and is committed to national unity”.
He also “called for reaffirming and enforcing international protections for journalists and warned against any attempt to weaken these safeguards”.
Meanwhile, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel.
It is the first time Israel has faced fire from Yemen since the start of the Iran conflict.
Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said they fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting what he described as “sensitive Israeli military sites” in southern Israel.
Israel’s military earlier said it had intercepted a missile.
