Introduction

Journalists, lawyers and other Human Rights Defenders in Lebanon working in the context of the war report severe attacks on those exercising their freedom of expression. These include killings, physical attacks, pressures to censor their work, and online intimidation.

Many report damage to their physical and mental health, and say they lack sufficient protection from international mechanisms designed to protect them.

Since the outbreak of the war on 08 October 2023, Israeli forces – backed and armed by the United States and other western allies – have repeatedly bombed civilian areas of Lebanon. According to Lebanon’s health ministry, as of 04 December 2024, at least 4,047 people had been killed in Lebanon and 16,638 wounded since the start of the war. These figures do not differentiate between members of armed groups and civilians. The vast majority of casualties were inflicted after Israel went on the offensive in September.

Although journalists in war are supposed to enjoy special protections, media workers in Lebanon have been targeted, killed and vilified for their work on reporting the truth. A 2023 survey of photojournalists working in Lebanon found attacks on them are so common that many considered them to be a normal part of their job.

From the start of the war in Lebanon, Israel directly targeted, threatened and bombed journalists, killing and seriously injuring dozens, disregarding their international protections.

Although a 60-day ceasefire between political factions in Lebanon and the Israeli government was agreed in late November 2024, many violations of the truce were reported within days, and local journalists and others fear the agreement is so fragile it risks breaking down completely, threatening renewed, widespread danger in the imminent future.

Attacks on journalists in Lebanon come in the context of the ongoing, large-scale killings of journalists in Gaza by the Israeli army since October 2023. According to international NGO the Committee to Protect Journalists, up to 05 December 2024, at least 137 journalists and media workers, including six in Lebanon (four of whom were specifically targeted by Israeli forces), had been killed during the Gaza war.

The right to freedom of opinion and expression provides an international legal basis for uncensored and unhindered news media and the right of journalists to work safely and without fear. International humanitarian law is also applicable to the safety of journalists, including in Lebanon.

While journalists in conflict are supposed to be protected under customary international humanitarian law, and directly targeting them is a war crime, they have been continually attacked in Lebanon. Signs on cars or journalists’ vests saying PRESS did not provide protection to media crews, or their vehicles or equipment.

Faced with these dangers, many report having to restrict their movements in a context when it is vital they are able to access and report the truth. Many also face chronic financial difficulties, and a lack of insurance and protective equipment.

Journalists in Lebanon are also confronted with internal pressures on their freedom to report, and on their ability to practice their profession. Aside from immediate physical dangers, they face constant threats and harassment from within Lebanese society, including threats made against specific journalists and media outlets. Public anger is often directed at journalists, and some have been seriously injured. Some journalists say that members of political groups threatened to “get them when the war is over.”

Deep internal divisions in Lebanon during the conflict are reflected in a clear division in media coverage. Polarisation escalated to the point where some journalists were accused of treason, labeled as “Zionists,” and certain parties designated as “agents,” with implications that they could meet violent ends. These attacks hinder their ability to provide objective coverage, and encourage self-censorship.

There are hopes that a new media law, long in development and whose progress was halted by the war, could bring some necessary clarity and progress to the media landscape.

Methodology

This report is based on in-country research by Brian Dooley, an Advisory Board member of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), which is a regional human rights organisation based in Lebanon. The report was prepared with support from Maharat Foundation, a freedom of expression organisation based in Beirut.

GCHR’s researcher conducted interviews with human rights lawyers, journalists and media organisations in Lebanon in November and December 2024. The report, “Attacked from all directions: Media workers under fire in Lebanon’s war”, aims to provide an analysis of the dangers facing local and international journalists in Lebanon, assesses the realities of their exercising their rights of freedom of expression under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and offers recommendations to enhance their protection.

The report was prepared as part of a project on Crisis Prevention, Stabilisation, and Peacebuilding in Lebanon through Freedom of Expression Rights. It is supported by IFEX, of which GCHR and Maharat are both members.

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