An Israeli airstrike killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zeinab Faraj near the village of al-Tayri in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, in what Lebanese officials and press freedom groups are calling a deliberate targeting of media workers. Khalil, 43, was a veteran correspondent for the Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Akhbar and had reported extensively from southern Lebanon throughout the ongoing conflict. Faraj, a freelance photographer who frequently worked alongside Khalil, was hospitalised with a head wound.
According to Lebanese authorities and witnesses, the two journalists were working near al-Tayri when an Israeli strike hit the vehicle in front of them, killing two men. They sought shelter in a nearby house, which was then also struck. When Lebanese Red Cross rescuers arrived, they managed to evacuate Faraj but were forced to withdraw after Israeli forces directed a stun grenade and live fire toward the ambulance, preventing them from reaching Khalil. Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli forces "prevented the completion of the humanitarian mission" by targeting a clearly marked Red Cross ambulance. Rescue teams were only able to return to the site roughly four hours after the initial strike, recovering Khalil's body from beneath the rubble.
The Israeli military denied targeting journalists and said it had identified two vehicles departing a Hezbollah military structure that "approached troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat" after crossing what it called a "forward defence line" — the zone of southern Lebanese territory currently occupied by Israeli forces. It acknowledged receiving reports that two journalists were injured but maintained it was not obstructing rescue efforts. Israel and Lebanon remain technically in a state of war and have no diplomatic relations.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the incident a war crime, saying the targeting of journalists, obstruction of relief teams, and repeated strikes on the same location violated international humanitarian law. Lebanon's Information Minister Paul Morcos echoed that assessment. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killing, noting that Khalil had reportedly received an Israeli death threat in 2024 warning her to leave southern Lebanon. Reporters Without Borders said it had messaged the Israeli military during the incident asking it to allow ambulances through, receiving no response in time. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least seven journalists have now been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes during the current conflict.
The killing comes amid fragile diplomatic activity: Lebanese and Israeli envoys, meeting under US auspices in what marked their first direct high-level contact in three decades, agreed last week to a 10-day cessation of hostilities. A second round of talks was due in Washington on Thursday, with Lebanon expected to request a one-month ceasefire extension. More than 2,475 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hezbollah rocket fire, according to Lebanese authorities, whose figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.