Lebanon Accuses Israel of War Crime After Journalist Killed in Southern Strike

Lebanon's prime minister and president accused Israel of war crimes Thursday after an Israeli airstrike killed journalist Amal Khalil in southern Lebanon, with officials alleging Israeli forces prevented rescue teams from reaching her for nearly four hours.

Khalil, 43, who worked for the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, died Wednesday after being trapped under rubble following an Israeli drone strike near the town of Al-Tayri. Freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj was wounded in the same attack but later evacuated.

The incident occurred as Khalil and Faraj were working in an area where Israeli forces occupy several positions under a fragile 10-day ceasefire that began April 16. According to Lebanon's Union of Journalists, the reporters were near Al-Tayri when an Israeli drone first struck a car in front of them, killing two civilians, before attacking the journalists' vehicle.

The rescue operation dispute

Lebanese officials say Israeli forces then pursued the journalists as they sought shelter in a nearby building, striking that structure two hours later. When Lebanese Red Cross ambulances arrived, the health ministry alleges Israeli troops fired stun grenades and gunfire at the clearly marked vehicles.

"When the Lebanese Red Cross arrived to transport the injured, the enemy prevented the completion of the humanitarian mission, firing a stun grenade at the ambulance and targeting it with gunfire."

Lebanon's Health Ministry said in a statement. Rescue workers were able to extract Faraj and the bodies of two men killed in the initial strike, but Khalil remained trapped.

The Israel Defense Forces denied preventing rescue teams from reaching the site and said it "does not target journalists and acts to mitigate harm to them while maintaining the safety and security of its troops."

Clayton Weimer, executive director of Reporters Without Borders, told the BBC his organization had contacted the Israeli army asking it to allow ambulances through, but "the Red Cross signalled they were unable to get through because of ongoing Israeli bombardment."

The targeting allegations

The IDF said it had identified two vehicles that left "a military structure used by Hezbollah" and approached Israeli troops "in a manner that posed an immediate threat to their safety." The military described the strike as targeting vehicles that had violated the ceasefire by crossing a "forward defence line."

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam rejected this account, saying Israel's "targeting of media workers in the south while they carry out their professional duties is no longer isolated incidents, but an established approach." He accused Israel of:

• Deliberately targeting journalists in southern Lebanon
• Obstructing rescue teams from reaching wounded reporters
• Attacking marked Red Cross ambulances

In 2024, Khalil had received what she and the journalists' union described as an "Israeli death threat" warning her to leave southern Lebanon. In a video that has since gone viral, she claimed Israeli forces told her: "We will separate your head from your shoulders."

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Israeli forces have killed at least 260 media workers since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, most of them Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

How the outlets are framing it

France 24 focused on the diplomatic accusations, leading with Lebanon's president and prime minister both calling the incident a war crime.

CBS News emphasized the rescue operation dispute, detailing how Israeli gunfire allegedly prevented ambulances from reaching Khalil for four hours while she bled to death.

The BBC balanced both the Lebanese accusations and Israeli denials, giving equal weight to the IDF's claim that it was targeting Hezbollah-linked vehicles that posed a threat.

On Thursday morning, mourners carried Khalil's coffin through her hometown of Baysariyah, draped in a Lebanese flag with her blue flak jacket and helmet placed on top. The front page of Al-Akhbar featured her photograph, microphone in hand, with the newspaper saying she "remained steadfast in her humanitarian and professional duty."

The killing comes as Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors meet in Washington Thursday to discuss extending the current ceasefire, with both Hezbollah and the IDF accusing each other of violations. Lebanon has said it will pursue the case before "competent international forums."