Fatima Ftouni
فاطمة فتوني
Correspondant for Al-Mayadeen
Killed by Israel using an Airstrike
Killed by Israel on 28 Mar 2026
Links
- Fatima Ftouni
- Lebanon condemns ‘blatant war crime’ after Israel kills three journalists
- Martyr Fatima Fattouni: a victim of the Israeli doctrine of "forced blindness"
- https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/al-mayadeen-s-fatima-ftouni-martyred-in-israeli-aggression
- Al Mayadeen bids farewell to martyred correspondent, Fatima Ftouni
Archivist Notes
Al Mayadeen war correspondent Fatima Ftouni was killed on March 28, 2026, by an Israeli drone strike that hit her press car while traveling on the main road in Jezzine, southern Lebanon. The drone strike killed five people, including three journalists: Ali Shuaib (Al-Manar), Fatima Ftouni (Al-Mayadeen), Mohammed Ftouni, an independent cameraman and Fatima’s brother, and a relative of Shuaib. The strike directly targeted the vehicle while they were inside. According to an Al Araby reporter on the scene, Israel targeted their car with two strikes, killing Ali Shuaib and Mohammed Ftouni. Fatima survived and tried to get away, but the Israeli drone struck her a couple of times down the road.
Fatima Ftouni was a fixture of Al Mayadeen's newsroom long before she took to the field, having served as an editor at Al Mayadeen Net, where colleagues remember her as warm, devoted, and deeply committed to her craft. When she made the move to frontline correspondence in South Lebanon, those qualities only sharpened. In conditions that would have driven many away, Fatima stayed, reported, and refused to be silent. Mr. Ghassan Ben Jeddou, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Mayadeen Media Network, remembered Fatima Ftouni as a journalist who turned away from fame and never sought the spotlight, choosing instead to remain in South Lebanon, devoted to its land and people: He noted her constant presence on the frontlines, adding that her courage and determination were a source of both pride and concern for the network’s leadership. "She was at all times, armed with her vest and helmet, fortified by her word and credibility, with love, commitment, and belonging.".
She had been reporting from the frontlines of the Israel-Hezbollah war in the previous days, filming in front of battles in the town of Taybeh, southern Lebanon.
Eighteen months earlier, she and her colleagues were struck by an Israeli bomb while sleeping in a hotel in southern Lebanon; Ftouni survived, but two of her colleagues did not. Commenting on their deaths at the time, Ftouni said, “It is the silence of the international community that let this happen.”
Fatima and her brother are not the first of their family to be martyred in this war. Earlier this month, Fatima's uncle and his family were martyred in an Israeli strike that targeted their house in Toul, a death Fatima herself reported on live television, steady and present at the moment the world learned what she had just lost.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Situation Room confirmed to CPJ that it carried out the strike, claiming that Shuaib (whom it referred to as Ali Hassan Shaib) was a member of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force documenting IDF positions, without providing any evidence.
This strike was universally condemned by all Lebanese political, military, and civilian components. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the attack constitutes a "blatant crime that violates all norms" and called on international bodies to take action. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also condemned the attack, urging respect for international law, according to the National News Agency. Separately, the Syndicate of Workers in Visual and Audio Media in Lebanon stated: "Targeting journalists in the field is a blatant attack on press freedom and a transparent attempt to silence free voices and obscure the serious human rights violations taking place. This crime not only targets specific individuals but also the entire media community and all those who strive to reveal the truth to the public."
At a news conference, Information Minister Paul Morcos said that Lebanon is preparing to file a complaint with the UN Security Council over the attack.
In mid-March 2026, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) began a ground operation inside southern Lebanon, advancing forces beyond the border area into Lebanese territory. This marked a significant escalation beyond air and drone strikes. Israel describes these as “targeted” ground operations against Hezbollah positions aimed at pushing militants away from the border and establishing a forward defensive area/buffer zone south of the Litani River.