TEHRAN -- Iran’s foreign minister said Wednesday the killing of dozens of journalists in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon by Israel shows the special role played by reporters in reflecting the regime’s genocidal crimes.

“The martyrdom of tens of journalists and cameramen, including two hard-working Al Mayadeen reporters, in the brutal attacks of the fake Israeli regime in Gaza and southern Lebanon shows the influence and special role that journalists play in reflecting the Israeli regime’s genocide and war crimes and awakening the world’s public opinion,” Hussein Amir-Abdollahian wrote in an X post.

Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen news channel reported on Tuesday that Zionist forces had “deliberately” targeted two of its TV crew members near the town of Tir Harfa, about a mile from the southern border.

The Beirut-based TV channel identified the victims as Rabie al-Memari, a camera operator, and Farah Omar, a correspondent, who were reporting on the violence along the border with the occupied territories.

On Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said at least 53 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7.

The victims included 46 Palestinian, four Israeli, and three Lebanese journalists, it added.

The CPJ also noted that the past few weeks have been the deadliest period for journalists covering conflict since the media group began tracking deaths over 30 years ago.

Israel is blocking “essential media coverage” and withholding “lifesaving information” from Gaza under a “news blackout” meant to win its Western propaganda war, said CPJ’s program coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Sherif Mansour.