Amal Khalil, a journalist, was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday after rescuers were blocked from reaching her due to further Israeli fire, according to witnesses and Lebanese authorities. The strike also injured another journalist, Zeinab Faraj.
Khalil and Faraj were covering developments near the town of al-Tayri when an Israeli strike hit a vehicle in front of them. They ran into a nearby house, which was then also targeted, according to Lebanon's health ministry. Rescuers retrieved Faraj, who had a head wound, but when they returned for Khalil, a sound grenade and live ammunition blocked their access, the health ministry said.
Khalil was later found dead by civil defence, who pulled her body from under the rubble. The Israeli military said it had received reports of two injured journalists and denied preventing rescue teams from reaching the area. It stated that the vehicles approached troops in a manner posing an immediate threat and that it does not target journalists.
Lebanon's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, called the targeting of journalists and obstruction of relief efforts “war crimes” and vowed to pursue them before international bodies. The incident occurred despite an ongoing ceasefire, with five people killed in total on Wednesday.
