A Lebanese journalist was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Rescue teams found her body hours after the attack amid ongoing hostilities in Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hezbollah.Journalist Amal Khalil took refuge in a house in the village of al-Tiri as he covered the fighting. According to Lebanese authorities, the attack on the house came shortly after an earlier Israeli attack on the area.Lebanese health ministry officials said the initial attack killed two people. A second attack then hit the building where Khalil and her colleague Zeinab Faraj had taken refuge. Faraj was seriously injured and was pulled from the rubble, but rescue teams were unable to reach Khalil immediately.The ministry said Israeli fires in the area forced emergency crews to suspend operations, delaying access to the scene. Khalil was trapped under the rubble for several hours before the Lebanese army, civil defense forces and the Lebanese Red Cross arrived. Her body was found late at night, more than six hours after the attack.The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident, insisting that individuals in the village violated the ceasefire and posed a threat to Israeli forces. It denies deliberately targeting journalists or hindering rescue operations.Lebanese Information Minister Paul Mokos condemned the killings, calling them a “blatant violation of international and humanitarian law.”Khalil’s death came as Israeli and Lebanese officials held a second round of talks in Washington aimed at extending a ceasefire that took effect last week. Conflict between Israel and Israel HezbollahIn early March, broader regional tensions rekindled due to the confrontation between the United States and Israel and Iran, and continued to escalate in the border areas.
Who is Amal Khalil?
Khalil is a veteran journalist from southern Lebanon who has been covering conflict in the region since 2006. Her most recent reporting has focused on the demolitions of villages where Israeli forces have established positions in Lebanese territory.Her killing brought to nine the number of journalists killed in Lebanon this year, the Associated Press said, citing media regulators. Lebanese officials say the wider conflict has killed at least 2,300 people and displaced more than 1 million.International press freedom groups condemned the incident. Reporters Without Borders had earlier urged pressure on Israel to allow safe access for rescue workers, while the Committee to Protect Journalists said the apparent targeting of journalists and obstruction of rescue efforts could amount to war crimes.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the army, Red Cross and U.N. peacekeepers to coordinate efforts to secure access to the site.The incident follows a series of deadly strikes targeting media workers in recent weeks. In late March, an Israeli airstrike killed three journalists in southern Lebanon, including Ali Shoeib of Al-Manar TV. Israel says he has ties to Hezbollah intelligence services, but it has not confirmed the allegation.The same attack also killed Fatima Ftouni and her brother Mohammed Ftouni, both of whom worked for Al-Mayadeen TV. Days earlier, another airstrike in Beirut killed Mohamed al-Sheri and his wife.
