Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Thursday accused Israel of committing war crimes after journalist Amal Khalil was killed in an Israeli airstrike while reporting in southern Lebanon.
Salam wrote on X that attacks on media workers in the south “while they perform their duties” are no longer isolated incidents but have become an established approach that Lebanon condemns and rejects. He said strikes on journalists, obstruction of relief teams, and repeated targeting of sites after rescues arrive amount to war crimes, and pledged that Lebanon will take the matter to international forums. He offered condolences to Khalil’s family.
Khalil, a correspondent for Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper, and freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj were covering events in the village of al-Tiri on Wednesday when an Israeli strike hit the vehicle ahead of them. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, they sought shelter in a nearby house that was then struck. Rescue teams reached Faraj, who was seriously injured, but they were forced to abandon attempts to reach Khalil after coming under fire. Khalil’s body was recovered from the rubble hours later.
Press freedom groups called for action. Reporters Without Borders urged the international community to pressure the Israeli army to permit rescuers access, while the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was outraged by what appears to be deliberate targeting and warned that blocking rescue efforts could amount to a war crime.
Israel denied blocking rescue teams and reiterated that it does not target journalists, saying the incident is under review. The Israeli military said people in al-Tiri had violated the ceasefire and posed a threat to its forces.
A 10-day ceasefire, in effect since April 16 to halt fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, has reduced but not ended exchanges of fire. Israeli and Lebanese officials were scheduled to meet in Washington for a second round of ceasefire talks. Hezbollah, a Shiite political party and armed group in Lebanon, is backed by Iran and is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, Germany and several Sunni Arab states; the European Union lists only its armed wing as a terrorist entity.
Khalil, from southern Lebanon, had been reporting on the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated in March after the start of the US-Israel war with Iran. Her death brings the number of journalists killed in Lebanon this year to nine.
Edited by: Sean Sinico