Southern Lebanon: Israel accused of a media “blackout” in the occupied zone, as UNIFIL-escorted visits stop

Since the end of September no journalist has entered the security zone held by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon. Press freedom organisations and Lebanese journalists accuse Israel of a “blackout” on the media, as The National reports.

“At this moment we cannot carry out media visits south of the so-called yellow line. This has been the case for the past few weeks,” a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL said. The zone is 10 to 12 kilometres deep and was seized by Israel in the war with Hezbollah, which flared up again in March 2026. After the June ceasefire, journalists had entered several times with UNIFIL, one of the few access routes along with humanitarian missions.

On September 25 two journalists followed a civilian mission to the village of Debel. Two days later, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and residents, the Israeli army banned for three days all civilian missions to and from Debel and two neighbouring villages. The same morning the UNIFIL escort of French-Lebanese independent journalist Tea Ziade was cancelled minutes before departure.

A “censorship tool”

“The coordination mechanism between the Israeli army, UNIFIL and the Lebanese authorities, which was meant to protect civilians’ access, including journalists, has become a censorship tool, exploited by the Israeli army to further restrict press access,” said RSF Middle East bureau head Jonathan Dagher, in an RSF statement. “It is unacceptable to isolate a civilian area for three days merely because it hosted journalists.”

Lebanon Press Syndicate president Elsy Moufarrej said that Israeli forces “reportedly began blocking missions from entering if they are accompanied by journalists” and that the ban “deprives these communities of their voice and violates the public’s right to know”. “If we cannot go to the south, how will we tell the story of the occupation?” Ziade asked.

Israel’s position

The Israeli army confirmed that it raised the matter with UNIFIL, “following incidents in which journalists entered the security zone without prior coordination and published footage revealing troop positions”. A spokesman said operational areas “pose real dangers” and that its policy aims to allow coverage “as much as possible” without endangering lives and troops. Requests are examined case by case, and the army denied having a policy of punishing the civilian population.

According to RSF, at least eight journalists have been killed by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon since 2023, and the statement was issued on the third anniversary of the death of photojournalist Issam Abdallah.

Meanwhile the Israeli defence minister is threatening to extend the security zone towards Nabatieh and the Litani, as covered in our report on Katz’s visit, while the EU prepares a training mission for the Lebanese army ahead of UNIFIL’s withdrawal, as covered in our report on the EU decision.