Systemic escalation: Israeli strikes target press infrastructure in Lebanon amid regional militarisation of media

Indigenous and traditional knowledge systems in the Levant view journalists as stewards of collective memory, not merely 'neutral' observers. The targeting of press infrastructure echoes colonial-era suppression of Indigenous knowledge systems, where oral histories and alternative media were systematically dismantled to control narrative sovereignty. Lebanese and Palestinian journalists often operate under the principle of 'witnessing as resistance,' where bearing witness to atrocities is itself an act of defiance against erasure, aligning with Indigenous epistemologies of truth-telling as a form of survival.

The targeting of marked press vehicles in Lebanon is part of a documented pattern dating back to Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, when it bombed media infrastructure in West Beirut, and the 2006 war, where Al-Manar TV’s headquarters were struck. This aligns with Israel’s broader strategy of 'death by metadata,' where journalists are profiled and targeted based on their affiliations, as seen in the 2021 bombing of Al Jazeera’s Gaza office. The U.S. has historically shielded Israel from accountability, including vetoing UN Security Council resolutions condemning such attacks, reinforcing a cycle of impunity since the 1970s.

In Latin America, journalists are often targeted for documenting state violence, as seen in Mexico’s 'disappeared' reporters or Colombia’s paramilitary censorship, where media suppression is a tool of social control. African traditions, such as the Griot oral historians, position journalists as sacred keepers of truth, making their targeting a form of cultural erasure. The Western-centric framing of 'press freedom' as a universal right ignores how local media ecosystems in the Global South have historically been sites of both oppression and liberation, shaped by colonial legacies and anti-colonial struggles.

Research from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) shows a 50% increase in journalist killings in conflict zones since 2010, with 90% of perpetrators facing no consequences. A 2023 study in *Journalism Practice* found that 78% of journalists killed in the Middle East were targeted while covering military operations, suggesting a deliberate strategy of information control. The targeting of marked press vehicles violates the 1949 Geneva Conventions (Article 79 of Protocol I), which requires parties to conflict to protect journalists as civilians, yet enforcement mechanisms are virtually nonexistent in asymmetric warfare.

Artistic and spiritual traditions in the Levant often frame journalists as 'witnesses of the unseen,' a role that transcends mere reporting to become a form of sacred duty. Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s work, for example, positions the poet-journalist as a bridge between memory and resistance, a role that makes them a target for those seeking to erase collective narratives. In Lebanese Shi’a traditions, the concept of 'shahada' (martyrdom) extends to journalists who document state violence, framing their deaths as acts of spiritual resistance against oppression.

If current trends continue, the militarisation of media in conflict zones will likely escalate, with AI-driven surveillance enabling more precise targeting of journalists based on digital footprints. The rise of 'disinformation wars' may lead to further normalisation of journalist killings as 'collateral damage,' particularly as states and non-state actors weaponise social media to delegitimise independent reporting. A potential future scenario involves the collapse of traditional media in conflict zones, replaced by state-controlled narratives or decentralised, encrypted networks that prioritise safety over accessibility.

Marginalised voices—Palestinian, Lebanese, and other Arab journalists—are systematically excluded from dominant narratives about their own killings, reducing them to passive victims rather than agents of resistance. Local media workers in Gaza and southern Lebanon report being profiled by Israeli intelligence based on their affiliations, yet their experiences are rarely centred in international coverage. The erasure of these voices is compounded by the fact that many are freelancers or stringers, who lack the institutional protections of Western journalists, making them disproportionately vulnerable to targeted strikes.