Mazaj News (Web Desk) A Lebanese journalist was killed and another injured in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday as they were reporting near the border with Israel, according to their employer and emergency responders.
Lebanon’s civil defence said rescue teams recovered the body of journalist Amal Khalil after a strike hit a house in the town of al-Tiri. Her employer, the daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, confirmed her death.
Information Minister Paul Morcos stated that Khalil was deliberately targeted by Israeli forces while carrying out her work. He condemned the incident, calling attacks on journalists a serious crime and a clear breach of international humanitarian law.
Earlier, the health ministry reported that the strikes in al-Tiri killed two people and injured freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj, who was taken to hospital. Khalil had initially been reported trapped under the rubble.
A Lebanese Red Cross official said Faraj was successfully rescued, but teams were unable to reach Khalil at first due to a warning strike, forcing them to withdraw temporarily.
Later, ambulance crews accompanied by the Lebanese army and a bulldozer entered the area to continue search efforts. Local journalists and media outlets reported that rescuers gained access after several hours, coordinating with the 2024 ceasefire monitoring mechanism and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Khalil was an experienced correspondent for Al-Akhbar, known for her extensive coverage from southern Lebanon during the conflict that began on March 2, as well as earlier fighting between 2023 and 2024. Faraj, a freelance photographer, had often collaborated with her.
In a statement earlier in the day, the Israeli military said it had identified two vehicles leaving a Hezbollah-linked military site in southern Lebanon. It said the individuals were seen as violating ceasefire arrangements and posing an immediate threat, prompting an airstrike on one vehicle and the facility they had exited.
The military added that reports indicated two journalists were hurt in the attack, and maintained that it was not blocking rescue teams from accessing the area.