The irritating, piercing buzz of the drones resonated in my head, even after they had stopped flying over the building. Until a few weeks ago, any loud noise would shake my concentration while I was sitting at my computer. I would stop writing and compulsively check the social media platform X, looking for messages from the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, fearing I might find an urgent evacuation warning for the inhabitants of Beirut’s suburbs. When there was no news, I would breathe a sigh of relief, convincing myself that maybe it was just a sonic boom caused by Israeli fighter jets crossing at low altitude.
Now, with the ceasefire reached between Israel and Hezbollah at the end of November, those moments seem far away, but the memory of them lingers on. Even the sound of a simple thunderstorm rattling my office windows, manages to trigger a deep sense of unease. Because, although living in a constant state of alert and psychological stress “naturally” becomes part of everyday life, it leaves invisible scars that are hard to erase.
As a freelance journalist you quickly discover that your mental and physical health is of no concern to any of the media outlets you work with from a war zone. You keep telling yourself that this is not the time to slow down and you know that tomorrow won’t be either. Post-traumatic stress is one of the struggles a journalist faces in war coverage, and very few media outlets are willing to invest in the safety or well-being of their reporters (The New York Times being one of the rare exceptions).
British-Iranian journalist Leila Molana-Allen posts a message on X that transcends the borders of the digital world and exposes a disconcerting truth about the practice of journalism in times of war: “Editors: Please, please stop sending freelance journalists into war zones unprepared. I’m organising emergency safety trainings here in #Beirut & it’s terrifying - how many who’ve worked for big news orgs for years tell me they’ve never been offered training or safety equipment.” Her appeal is a stark reminder of the vulnerability of those who risk their lives to bring the news to the world, often without the tools needed to protect themselves.
Not heroes or martyrs, just professionals who need resources and support
The uprising in Libya in 2011 was the first testing ground for a generation of freelance journalists that landed in the country with no idea of the protective measures needed to work in war zones. Over a decade later, there are still many freelance reporters who have travelled to Ukraine, Israel and Lebanon without personal protective equipment (PPE) or insurance cover – while the media to which they sell their written or audiovisual reports tend to look the other way.
Beyond the increasingly precarious position of reporters in conflict zones, this highlights the lack of institutional support for journalists.
The need for awareness campaigns and international assistance “is urgent”, says Jad Sharour, communication officer of the Beirut-based Samir Kassir Foundation (SKF). SKF is one of the few organisations in Lebanon that organises safety training, known as HEFAT (Hostile Environment and First Aid Training), to fill the gap in support left by both the news outlets themselves and the Lebanese government. Some 190 local and international journalists have received this training over the past three years.
“We feel that the resources and the mindset are not there to support journalists working in conflict zones, especially in the local media. And we are in the Middle East, a region with many conflict zones, where we’re faced with two of the most serious crises: Gaza and Lebanon,” explains Sharour.
The latest training, held in February 2024, focused not only on novice reporters covering conflicts on the ground but also on the editors and people in charge of managing these reporters from their newsdesks. “We have developed a version of HEFAT for those coordinating journalists in bombing areas, covering how to communicate effectively and handle extreme situations,” he says.
The lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) is also a recurrent problem for journalists in the country. In association with Reporters Without Borders (RSF), SKF has provided safety equipment – bulletproof vests and helmets – to more than 60 reporters, although Sharour acknowledges that there is a long waiting list.
“And the question is: what would happen if we were not here? Even the big media organisations struggle to muster the will or the resources to equip their journalists with the right knowledge and equipment. And this isn’t only the case in armed conflicts. We have also seen it in other circumstances, such as the Covid-19 pandemic or the 2019 protests in Lebanon,” he adds.
In Gaza, the narrative is often disputed, manipulated by the warring factions or shaped by international interests. In southern Lebanon, it is no different: journalists, trying to report facts impartially, find themselves caught between the censorship imposed by armed groups and the need to protect their integrity.
Coupled with this challenge is the constant fear of the truth becoming a double-edged sword. Sharour explains how local and international journalists have to navigate with great caution, as “on many occasions, reporting erroneous data or publishing sensitive information can be construed as a direct threat by actors on the ground”. This is why organisations such as the Samir Kassir Foundation not only provide training on physical safety but also on how to keep reporters from becoming the target of reprisals. Mental health is rarely part of the conversation.
Social media platforms have taken on a dual role in this respect. At the same time as being a vital tool for journalists to raise alerts about bombings, danger zones or imminent evacuations, they have also become spaces where propaganda, threats and online harassment abound, intensifying the stress and vulnerability of those in the field.
“Freelance journalists are easy targets for disinformation campaigns, derision and threats, and without the backing of a strong organisation, they face these battles virtually alone,” warns Ghasan Moukheiber of Lebanon’s Alternative Press Syndicate (APS).
Added to this is the lack of a legal framework to support freelance journalists in extreme situations. According to an APS report, the legislation in countries such as Lebanon does not foresee specific measures to protect freelance reporters in conflict zones (in situations ranging from detention to the extreme case of losing their lives while doing their job).
Silencing and impunity
The conflict in Lebanon has left dozens of journalists in a critical situation (at least three journalists have been killed on the job and 11 others injured). The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) points out that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has taken an alarming toll on the press in Lebanon. The CPJ has been investigating five more killings of media workers since September, highlighting a pattern of attacks and obstructions that threaten the work of journalists. “Journalists are civilians and must be protected. The international community must not tolerate this impunity,” insists CPJ programme director Carlos Martínez de la Serna.
Beyond the numbers, these attacks underline a worrying trend: the silencing of those who document war. The failure to punish these crimes and the lack of access to independent investigative reports fuel a cycle of violence that not only affects journalists but also society’s right to be informed. In an environment where the truth is a prime target, the press, although fragile, is an indispensable pillar of its defence.
“We are not numbers,” insists Moukheiber, recalling that behind every journalist there are families, children and lives that deserve to be valued. “If a journalist dies in the line of duty, his or her family gets nothing.”
Meanwhile, the intimidation is constant, not only from external actors but also from local groups such as the Amal movement or Hezbollah. In Beirut, journalists began to notice that the patterns of control and censorship seen in Gaza were being replicated in Lebanon: clashes of varying severity with news outlets such as AFP, Paris Match, NPR, VTM, Tg3 and Bild attest to this. And while working as a journalist in conflict zones is a challenge, it is all the more so for independent journalists who do not have the backing of major news outlets.
Moreover, the work of freelancers is often undervalued. They are not sufficiently remunerated for travelling to conflict zones, receiving unfair pay for their work, in addition to having to cover the costs of protecting their own safety. “Freelancers have to cover their own expenses, from transport to accommodation,” says journalist Joan Cabasés Vega, who deplores that the growing precariousness of journalistic work is widely regarded as part and parcel of the profession.
Despite the difficulties, freelance journalists keep up the struggle to maintain their independence and to tell stories that would otherwise be silenced. This is achieved, however, at the cost of great sacrifice.