Three Lebanese journalists were killed in a targeted Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Saturday, their employers have said.

Ali Shoeib, a reporter for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar TV, was killed in the town of Jezzine alongside reporter Fatima Ftouni and her brother, cameraman Mohamed Ftouni, both from the channel Al Mayadeen, according to the stations.

The strike reportedly hit the journalists' car just before noon local time (10:00 GMT).

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had killed Shoeib, describing him as a "terrorist" from Iranian-backed Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force who had "operated for years under the guise of a journalist".

It said he had worked to "expose the locations of IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon and along the border", including during the current fighting, and had used his position "to disseminate Hezbollah propaganda materials".

The IDF provided no evidence to support its claim that Shoeib had a military role. It did not comment on the deaths of Fatima or Mohamed Ftouni.

Hezbollah denounced the strike as the "deliberate criminal targeting of journalists".

"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 group said in a statement on Telegram.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the strike a "brazen crime" that broke the "most basic rules" of international law by targeting reporters, "who are ultimately civilians performing a professional duty".

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam likewise condemned the attack in a statement on X, branding it a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a clear breach of the rules that guarantee the protection of journalists in times of war".

This is the second time Israel has been accused of targeting journalists in Lebanon since the US-Israel war against Iran began a month ago.

On 18 March, Al Manar reported its presenter Mohammad Sherri and his wife had been killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut while they were sleeping.

Responding to Saturday's strike, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Lebanon had become "an increasingly deadly zone for journalists".

"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 US-based organisation's regional director Sara Qudah said.

"Journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for."

More than 1,100 civilians, including 120 children and 42 paramedics, have been killed in Lebanon during the conflict so far, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

More than a million people have also been displaced, worsening an existing humanitarian crisis in the country.

Many in Lebanon are worried Israel is using similar tactics it has been accused of deploying in Gaza - including the deliberate targeting of civilians, journalists and paramedics, which Israel denies.

Israel and Hezbollah had agreed a ceasefire in November 2024, under which both sides were meant to leave their positions in the south.

Progress was made, but it was partial. Israel maintained several military posts in the south and continued to carry out regular attacks on what it said were Hezbollah targets, accusing the group of trying to rearm and rebuild its presence.

After the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the beginning of the current conflict, Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in retaliation - both for his death and Israeli attacks since the ceasefire.

Israel has since escalated its operations in the region, saying its aim was to protect communities in northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah militants.