Chedid worked at LBCI for about 20 years, covering some of Lebanon’s biggest events in recent history (X)
Renowned senior Lebanese journalist Hoda Chedid passed away on Friday at the age of 59 after a long battle with cancer, and only weeks after she was honoured by the presidency.
She had reportedly suffered from cancer for 12 years and spoke about her health struggles on multiple occasions during interviews, reiterating her faith in God.
Her last post on X on 17 February in response to a comment read: “I am resisting the pain of this illness as much as I can, and relying on God”.
Her death on Friday coincided with Mother’s Day that is celebrated on 21 March across much of the Arab world.
The privately-owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBCI) mourned “with pain and sorrow the passing of the institution’s daughter, Hoda Chedid, who was not only part of its media body, but also its very heartbeat”.
Chedid began her career as a Presidential Palace correspondent for LBCI around two decades ago and has stayed at the broadcaster since, working as a field reporter and presenting numerous political talk shows.
“Hoda has supported the organisation for twenty years in circumstances that were, to say the least, difficult and risky,” LBCI said in a statement.
“Hoda has always been on the front line, unfazed by danger or threat, even if it could have cost her life,” it added, amid the political instability and conflicts that have rocked Lebanon since 2005.
“The organisation lost Hoda, but the greater loss is to the country she loved until her last breath, and to the profession that was the lung through which she breathed. We bid farewell to Hoda, and with her, we bid farewell to a part of us,” LBCI said.
في وداع الإستثنائية هدى شديد…#LBCI #LBCILebanon #LBCILebanonNews #LBCIVideos #LBCINews #BreakingNews #Lebanon #لبنان #HodaChedid #هدى_شديد pic.twitter.com/wzRpiI4oCV
— LBCI Lebanon News (@LBCI_NEWS) March 22, 2025
Hundreds of Lebanese and Arab media personalities, celebrities and politicians also offered their condolences to Chedid’s family and posted sombre messages for the veteran reporter online, describing her as an individual who remained positive and “full of life” despite her illness.
Thousands of other social media users also wrote prayers and condolences for Chedid.
President Joseph Aoun in a phone call offered his condolences to her family, expressing his “deep sorrows”.
“With the passing of Hoda, we miss a journalist who was distinguished by her professionalism and objectivity in visual, print, and audio media. We also miss Hoda, the kind, strong-willed person who stubbornly resisted the malignant disease that defeated her after she was determined to triumph over it,” said Aoun, according to a statement.
Aoun and Lebanon’s First Lady honoured Chedid at the presidential palace at the start of March for her life-long work in media and journalism.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote: “With unwavering determination and the strength of her faith in her voice, her pen, and her message, she bids us farewell today. She endured the pain. She overcame illness. She defeated it many times before it defeated her”.
“Hoda leaves us and leaves the country she loved and fought for until her last breath. Farewell, Hoda”.
Lebanon’s Press Club said: “Lebanese media has lost our colleague Hoda Chedid after a long battle with cancer. Her passing represents a great loss to the LBCI family and to all Lebanese journalism, as she left an indelible mark on the visual, audio, and print media”.
Prayers will be held for her on Saturday at a cathedral in Beirut between 12:00 and 18:00 local time (10:00 to 16:00 GMT) before she is taken to her final resting place in the northern village of Kefraya in the Zgharta district.
