❗️Prominent Lebanese investigative journalist targeted with Israeli-linked spyware According to a public statement released by Lebanese investigative journalist Radwan Mortada on social media, Apple issued an urgent security notification warning him that his personal device was targeted in a "sophisticated mercenary spyware attack" utilizing technology linked to the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group. The notification from Apple explicitly confirmed that such high-level cyber intrusions specifically target individuals "because of who you are or what you do," marking the third time Mortada has been targeted with Israeli Pegasus spyware following previous intrusions in 2017 and 2021. The cyber attack follows state retaliation against Mortada's investigative reporting, coming just weeks after the Israeli military looted, planted explosives in, and blew up his family's multi-generational home in Aita al-Jabal in southern Lebanon. The demolition of Mortada's home came shortly after he directed and co-produced The Trap, a two-part investigative documentary broadcast on Al Jazeera 360 that exposed Mossad's covert operations behind the September 2024 pager explosions across Lebanon. Mortada declared that "the targeting of journalists with sophisticated spyware poses a grave threat to press freedom, the confidentiality of journalistic sources, and the very foundations of independent investigative journalism." Despite uncertainty over whether the latest cyber operation was triggered directly by his documentary work, press freedom groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have strongly condemned the ongoing campaign of physical and digital intimidation aimed at silencing investigative reporters documenting Israeli war crimes in Lebanon.