Israeli forces bomb well-known Lebanese journalist and block rescuers from reaching her
Al-Tiri, Lebanon - Israel sparked more global condemnation after murdering a veteran Lebanese journalist and wounding another in targeted strikes on Wednesday.
The death of Amal Khalil, a 42-year-old reporter who worked for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar and was well-known in the country, was confirmed Wednesday.
She and another journalist, Zeinab Faraj, had taken refuge in a house in the town of Al-Tiri after an Israeli airstrike targeted a car in front of them, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
The two occupants of the vehicle which was struck – the mayor of the nearby Israeli-occupied town of Bint Jbeil and a man with him – were killed.
Israeli forces then began bombing the house where the two journalists had taken refuge.
Lebanon's health ministry said the attack wounded Faraj, who was taken to hospital, and left Khalil trapped under the rubble.
A Lebanese Red Cross official told AFP they were unable to reach her and withdrew "because of a warning strike."
Lebanese authorities had to contact UN peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon, and it took several hours before rescue workers could regain access to the area to extract Khalil, who by that point had died.
"Israel deliberately targets journalists in order to conceal the truth about its crimes against Lebanon," Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement denouncing the war crime.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote on X that "targeting journalists and obstructing access for rescue teams constitutes a war crime," adding that his government would take the case to international bodies.
When contacted by AFP on Thursday, an Israeli army spokesperson said "the incident is still under review".
Israel has killed over a dozen journalists in Lebanon over the past two-and-a-half years, adding to the more than 260 Palestinian media workers killed in Gaza since October 7 – a number unprecedented in any modern conflict.
Despite a nominal ceasefire covering both fronts, it has continued to bomb, destroy, and kill on a near-daily basis, while illegally occupying territory in Gaza and Lebanon.
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS