Lebanese journalist killed in Israeli strike on central Beirut

Amman, March 18, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the killing of Mohamed Sherri, a journalist with Hezbollah-affiliated broadcaster Al-Manar TV, in an Israeli strike on a residential building he lived in with his family in the central Beirut neighborhood of Zuqaq al-Blat on the morning of March 18.

Al-Manar TV confirmed the killing of Sherri, the head of political programming, and his wife in a statement, saying that he was among the channel’s most prominent journalists. 

A source from the Union of Journalists in Lebanon told CPJ that Yasser Sherri, Mohamed’s son and an editor at the Iraqi Hezbollah-affiliated Aletejah channel, was injured during the same strike.

“The killing of journalist Mohamed Sherri in his central Beirut apartment is a frightening escalation in Israel’s offensive in Lebanon,” said Joud Hasan, CPJ’s Levant Program Coordinator. “There is no justification for striking a densely populated residential apartment, and such attacks demonstrate a complete disregard for civilian life and the safety of journalists.”

The strike comes amid a renewed Israeli offensive in Lebanon against armed group Hezbollah that kicked off in early March as tensions in the Iran war spread across the region.

As of March 18, CPJ has documented in Lebanon the injury of four journalists, Israeli strikes on four media outlets, the obstruction of crews, as well as the displacement of members of the press from parts of Beirut and the country’s south. 

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Forces’ situation room told CPJ by phone that the incident is under investigation.