Israel kills noted Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil in southern Lebanon

Journalist Amal Khalil was covering developments the Lebanese town of al-Tayri when an Israeli strike killed her. (Photo/ AP)

The body of prominent Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was pulled from the rubble of a building in the southern village of al-Tiri on Wednesday, hours after an Israeli air strike trapped her and freelance photojournalist Zeinab Faraj inside.

Khalil, a journalist for the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, was last heard from at around 4:10 pm, when she called her family and the Lebanese military.

A senior Lebanese military official quoted by Reuters confirmed the body was recovered from the rubble.

Lebanon’s Information Minister Paul Morcos and the country’s National News Agency have confirmed her death.

Khalil and Faraj had been on assignment, reporting on attacks on the nearby southern village of Bint Jbeil, when a direct strike hit the building they had taken shelter in — seconds after an Israeli attack on a civilian vehicle on the main road in al-Tiri, according to Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed TV.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said Israel had "pursued" the two journalists by "targeting" the shelter.

"Deliberate campaign”

Ambulances and rescue teams were unable to reach the site due to continued strikes and damage, according to reports.

Khalil had covered the Israel-Hezbollah war since it erupted in October 2023, filing from across southern Lebanon.

Before her body was recovered, the press body Committee to Protect Journalists had called on the international community to pressure the Israeli military to allow rescue operations.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has condemned the killing of journalist Amal Khalil, calling her targeting and preventing rescuers from reaching her a “blatant war crime”.

“Israel’s targeting of media professionals in the South while they are performing their professional duties can no longer be viewed as a series of isolated incidents. Rather, it has become a proven pattern – one that we condemn and reject, just as it is condemned and rejected by all international laws and norms,” Salam said on X.

“Lebanon will spare no effort in pursuing these crimes before the relevant international tribunals.”

Lebanon's Press Club noted that Khalil paid with her “life and blood for a cause she believed in" and called the strike part of what it described as Israel's "deliberate campaign targeting journalists and media workers."

Lebanese authorities say more than 2,400 people have been killed since Israel launched its war on the country.

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Source: TRT