'Targeted on duty': Lebanon slams Israel's 'grave crime' after strike kills 5, including journalist Amal Khalil | Watch
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Targeted on duty': Lebanon slams Israel's 'grave crime' after strike kills 5, including journalist Amal Khalil | Watch")
Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil Photograph: (X)
Veteran journalist Amal Khalil killed in an Israeli airstrike, drawing sharp condemnation and raising questions over the one-week-old truce. Was she targeted or caught in crossfire?
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Amid a ceasefire in Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes have killed five people, including Lebanese veteran journalist Amal Khalil, in Lebanon on Wednesday (Apr 22). Another journalist has been wounded in the strike. Reports suggest that another journalist has also been injured by Israeli strikes. The death of the journalist in Lebanon has drawn sharp condemnation and raised fresh questions about the durability of the ceasefire that came into effect less than a week ago.
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Veteran journalist killed in Lebanon
Amal Khalil, a veteran correspondent for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, was killed when an Israeli strike hit a house in the town of al-Tiri near the Israeli border. Her colleague Zeinab Faraj, a freelance photographer who frequently worked alongside her, was wounded and taken to the hospital. Lebanon's civil defence agency confirmed recovering Khalil's body after rescue teams spent several hours attempting to reach her. However, responders revealed that the efforts to rescue Khalil were complicated by a "warning strike" that initially forced them to withdraw.
Khalil's body was eventually pulled out from amid the rubble. The Lebanese army, accompanied by a bulldozer to clear rubble, eventually escorted ambulance teams into the town after contact was established with the 2024 ceasefire mechanism and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. Watch video:
Who was Amal Khalil? Was she targeted by Israel?
Amal Khalil had been a consistent presence in the field throughout the current conflict, which began on March 2, as well as during the earlier round of fighting between 2023 and 2024. Lebanon's Information Minister Paul Morcos alleged that the journalist "was targeted by the Israeli army while carrying out her professional duty." In an X post, the Lebanese minister also noted that "the targeting of journalists is a grave crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law."
Israel refutes allegations of targeting Khalil
The Israeli military offered a different account. It said it had "identified two vehicles in southern Lebanon that had departed from a military structure used by Hezbollah," and that after assessing the individuals as "violating the ceasefire understandings and posing an imminent threat," the air force struck one vehicle and then the structure the individuals had fled from. The army acknowledged that it received reports that two journalists were injured and stated it was "not preventing rescue teams from reaching the area."
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.
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