Lebanon’s Prime Minister has accused Israel of committing war crimes after an airstrike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed a journalist and seriously wounded another.

 

 

Amal Khalil, a 43-year-old reporter for the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, was killed while on assignment in the village of at-Tiri. Her colleague, freelance photojournalist Zeinab Faraj, was seriously injured in the same incident. According to the National News Agency (NNA), Khalil is the fourth media worker killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since March.

 

 

The journalists had reportedly traveled to at-Tiri to cover the aftermath of an earlier drone strike on a vehicle. While they were seeking shelter in a nearby building, a subsequent airstrike struck the structure. Rescue efforts by the Red Cross were delayed for several hours due to continued attacks in the vicinity.

 

 

“Targeting journalists and obstructing the access of rescue teams to them, and then the renewed targeting of those teams after they’d arrived, constitute described war crimes,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam posted on X. He stated that such attacks are no longer “isolated incidents” but an “established method.”

 

 

The Lebanese Health Ministry further alleged that Israeli forces “pursued” the journalists to their place of shelter and used gunfire and stun grenades to prevent an ambulance from reaching the scene. Clayton Weimer, executive director of Reporters Without Borders, characterized the incident as a “callous disregard” for life and a “deliberate and targeted killing.”

 

 

The Israeli military acknowledged that the journalists were injured but maintained that it “does not target journalists and acts to mitigate harm to them.” The military added that the details of the incident are currently under review and denied preventing emergency teams from accessing the area.

 

 

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement holding Israeli forces responsible for the “targeted strike” on the journalists’ location. According to the CPJ, Israel was responsible for two-thirds of all media worker killings globally in 2025.

 

 

Amal Khalil had previously been the target of threats in 2024, warning her to leave southern Lebanon. Her colleagues and peers have described her as a dedicated professional who remained committed to her humanitarian and journalistic duties until her death.

 

 

This escalation occurred during a fragile ceasefire that began last Friday, as officials from both nations prepared for a second round of talks scheduled for Thursday in Washington.