A Remarkable Admission

The Israeli military brazenly admitted to creating a faked picture of a journalist they killed in Lebanon as supposed evidence that he was affiliated with armed groups.

On Saturday, March 28, 2026, Israeli forces killed three journalists traveling in a clearly marked press car on Jezzine highway in southern Lebanon. The journalists were en route to cover an assignment when their vehicle was struck. Those killed were Ali Shoaib, a correspondent for Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV; Fatima Ftouni, a reporter for pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen TV; and her brother, freelance photojournalist Mohamad Ftouni.

In an attempt to justify the killing, Israeli forces claimed Shoaib was a member of Hezbollah's Radwan forces, a special operations arm of the military. The military said he worked to 'expose the locations of IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon' and 'engaged in incitement against IDF troops.'

But the only evidence the military offered was a photo of Shoaib in supposed military garb, posted on X. The image was split in half: on one side, Shoaib appeared in a press vest, microphone, and baseball hat; on the other, a black-and-white version showed him in a uniform and hat with camouflage print.

When Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst asked the Israeli military about the source of the photo, the military admitted it was fake.

Unfortunately there isn't really a picture of it, it was photoshopped.

That's the admission. The Israeli military, in an official written statement, acknowledged fabricating evidence to justify the extrajudicial killing of a journalist.

Recently slain Lebanese journalist Ali Shoaib. Photo Free Palestine TVX

The 'Legitimization Cell'

This wasn't an isolated incident. According to a 2025 investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call, the Israeli military operates a special unit called the 'Legitimization Cell' that exists to create propaganda justifying the military's targeting of civilian infrastructure and civilians—particularly journalists.

The unit's mission is clear: scour the lives of dead and living journalists for any trace of links to armed groups, however tenuous, to justify killing them. One intelligence source explained the strategy: 'If the global media is talking about Israel killing innocent journalists, then immediately there's a push to find one journalist who might not be so innocent—as if that somehow makes killing the other 20 acceptable.'

Another source was even more blunt about the goal: 'The idea was to [allow the military to] operate without pressure, so countries like America wouldn't stop supplying weapons.'

The Israeli military outright admitted to +972 Magazine that it maintains 'research teams' with the goal of 'discredit[ing]' journalists reporting from Gaza who are supposedly 'Hamas members.' But despite supposedly being responsible for finding journalists' ties to Hamas, the 'research teams do not play a role in the selection of individual targets to be attacked'—meaning they're looking for justification after the fact.

Sources recalled a case where the Legitimization Unit falsely represented a journalist as a member of Hamas's military wing, with the propaganda research cell being 'eager' and 'excited' about the narrative. 'In the end, they realized he really was a journalist,' and he wasn't targeted, one source claimed.

A Pattern of Smearing

Israel has a long history of lying about journalists, who are protected in conflict under international law. In Gaza, Israel repeatedly claimed that the nearly 300 Palestinian journalists and media workers it killed in the genocide were affiliated with Hamas, without any evidence.

This includes when Israeli forces killed well-known Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul in Gaza in 2024. The military claimed that al-Ghoul received a military rank in Hamas in 2007—when the journalist was only 10 years old.

The pattern is relentless. After killing journalists, Israel smears them as combatants. When confronted, it either doubles down or offers non-exculpatory evidence. Sometimes, as in the case of Ali Shoaib, it simply admits to fabricating the evidence entirely.

A journalist carries burned safety gear from a car that was hit by an Israeli airstrike, which killed three journalists in south Lebanon on March 28, 2026.

The Deadliest Conflict on Record for Journalists

Gaza remains the deadliest place for journalists in the world. According to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) data cited by Time magazine, Israel has killed 209 Palestinian journalists in Gaza throughout its two-year war on the territory.

A CPJ report released in February 2026 found that 2025 was the deadliest year on record for journalists, and that for the third year in a row, Israel killed more journalists and media workers than any other country. Israel was responsible for 86 of the 129 journalists killed around the world in 2025—about two-thirds of all deaths. That's the highest death toll since CPJ started tracking journalist killings in 1992.

The three journalists killed in Lebanon on March 28 bring the total number of press members killed in Lebanon since the Israel-Gaza war began to 11, according to CPJ. Among that number were five journalists with Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV.

Fabricated Evidence of Combatant Status

Timothy Graham, an associate professor and disinformation researcher at Queensland University of Technology, told ABC News that the IDF's admission was significant.

It's fabricated evidence of combatant status applied to a real person, published on an official military platform to justify a killing. It is rationalization of violence through deception.

Graham explained that posts like the IDF's on social media are increasingly how military propaganda works in the modern world: 'Not only through sustained deception and public relations but through first-impression dominance. The correction never catches the lie, or when it does, it doesn't matter anymore. I would suggest that this is not a communications failure at all—that's the strategy.'

Journalists Are Civilians, Regardless of Outlet

Sara Qudah, CPJ regional director, condemned the pattern of Israeli accusations against 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. Journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for.'

Qudah emphasized that international law draws a clear distinction between media activity and direct participation in hostilities. 'This protection applies regardless of the political affiliation or ownership of the media outlet they work for.'

The killings drew condemnation from across Lebanon's deeply divided political spectrum. President Joseph Aoun called the attack 'a blatant crime that violates all the norms and treaties under which journalists enjoy international protection in wars.' Information Minister Paul Morcos described it as 'a deliberate and blatant war crime against the media and the mission of journalism.'

The International Federation of Journalists, a global journalism union representing hundreds of thousands of members, also condemned the killings. 'Journalists are civilians protected by international humanitarian law. By deliberately targeting these three media professionals, the State of Israel is once again seriously violating this law,' said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger. The IFJ demanded an independent international investigation.

What Happens After Admission?

As of this reporting, the IDF's post and edited photo remained on X with no community correction. The strike has been investigated by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Condemnation has been issued by press freedom groups and world leaders.

But consequences for the Israeli military? Accountability for killing journalists? Reforms to the Legitimization Cell that manufactures evidence to justify murder?

Silence.

The Israeli military admitted to fabricating evidence to justify killing Ali Shoaib. Then it moved on to the next target. The strategy works because it's allowed to work.

Ali Shoaib. Fatima Ftouni. Mohamad Ftouni. 209 Palestinian journalists in Gaza. They had names. They had stories. They had protection under international law.

Israel decided that didn't matter. It photoshopped evidence to justify the decision. Then it killed again.