An Israeli airstrike killed a Lebanese journalist and wounded another while they were working near the border, with Lebanon condemning the attack as a war crime.
BEIRUT: An Israeli airstrike killed a Lebanese journalist and wounded another on Wednesday while they were working near the border with Israel.
The Lebanese civil defence agency said rescuers recovered the body of journalist Amal Khalil from a house targeted in the town of al-Tiri.
Her employer, the daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, also announced her death, while a second journalist, photographer Zeinab Faraj, was wounded and taken to hospital.
Lebanon’s Information Minister Paul Morcos condemned the strike, stating Khalil “was targeted by the Israeli army while carrying out her professional duty”.
“The targeting of journalists is a grave crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law,” he added on social media platform X.
Rescue efforts faced significant challenges, with a Lebanese Red Cross official stating they initially withdrew due to a warning strike.
Ambulance teams, escorted by the Lebanese army and using a bulldozer, later entered the town to search for Khalil after coordinating through ceasefire mechanisms.
Khalil was a veteran correspondent for Al-Akhbar who had consistently reported from south Lebanon during the current and previous conflicts.
The Israeli army stated it had identified two vehicles departing from a Hezbollah military structure, which it said posed an imminent threat.
“After identifying the individuals as violating the ceasefire understandings, the Israeli Air Force struck one of the vehicles,” the army said in a statement.
It added that reports of journalists being injured were received and that the IDF was not preventing rescue teams from reaching the area.
