Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil (archive photo)
A Lebanese journalist was killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Rescue teams recovered her body hours after the attack amid continuing hostilities linked to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.Reporter Amal Khalil from Al-Akhbar had taken shelter in a house in the village of Al-Tira while covering the battles. According to the Lebanese authorities, the raid that hit the house came shortly after a previous Israeli attack in the area.Officials from the Lebanese Ministry of Health said that the initial strike killed two people. Then a second strike struck the building where Khalil and her colleague Zainab Faraj were sheltering.
Faraj was seriously injured and was pulled from under the rubble, but rescue teams were unable to reach Khalil immediately.The ministry said that Israeli fire in the area forced emergency teams to suspend their operations, delaying access to the site. Khalil remained trapped under the rubble for several hours before Lebanese army units, civil defense teams and the Lebanese Red Cross were able to reach her. Her body was recovered late at night, more than six hours after the raid.
The Israeli army said it was reviewing the incident, stressing that individuals in the village violated the ceasefire and posed a threat to its forces. It denied deliberately targeting journalists or obstructing rescue operations.Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos condemned the murder and described it as a “flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law.”Khalil’s death comes ahead of the second round of talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington aimed at extending the ceasefire that entered into force last week. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted again in early March amid broader regional tensions linked to the US-Israeli confrontation with Iran, has continued to escalate along the border.
Who is Amal Khalil?
Khalil is a veteran reporter from southern Lebanon, who has covered conflicts in the region since 2006. Her recent reporting has focused on Israeli demolitions in villages where forces have established positions inside Lebanese territory.Her death brings the number of journalists killed in Lebanon this year to nine, according to what media monitoring bodies reported from the Associated Press. Lebanese officials said the broader conflict had killed at least 2,300 people and displaced more than a million people.International press freedom groups condemned the incident. Reporters Without Borders had previously urged pressure on Israel to allow safe access for rescuers, while the Committee to Protect Journalists said that the apparent targeting of journalists and obstruction of rescue efforts could constitute a war crime.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for coordination of efforts with the participation of the army, the Red Cross and United Nations peacekeeping forces to secure access to the site.This incident comes after a series of deadly attacks on media workers in recent weeks. In late March, an Israeli airstrike killed three journalists in southern Lebanon, including Ali Shuaib of Al-Manar TV. Israel said he belonged to Hezbollah intelligence, a claim that has not been proven.The same strike also killed Fatima Fattouni and her brother, Mohamed Fattouni, both of whom worked at Al-Mayadeen TV. Days before that, another air strike in Beirut killed Muhammad Sheri and his wife.
