Khalil, 43, was a longtime correspondent for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar and had covered southern Lebanon since 2006. She and freelance photojournalist Zeinab Faraj were reporting near al-Tiri when a strike hit a vehicle ahead of them, after which they sought shelter in a nearby house that was also struck, Reuters reported.
Amal Khalil death intensifies demands for accountability
Faraj was rescued with serious injuries, but Khalil remained trapped under rubble for hours before her body was recovered shortly before midnight, according to accounts from rescue workers and Lebanese officials. The Associated Press reported that Khalil had been covering Israeli demolitions of Lebanese homes in villages where Israeli troops are positioned inside Lebanon.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli forces fired at rescuers and used a sound grenade near an ambulance, preventing crews from completing the rescue mission. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the targeting of journalists and obstruction of relief efforts constituted “war crimes” and added that Lebanon would pursue the matter before international bodies.
The Israeli military said two vehicles had left a Hezbollah-used structure and crossed what it calls a forward defense line, posing an immediate threat to troops. It said it struck one vehicle and a nearby building, denied intentionally targeting journalists or medical teams, and said it did not prevent rescue teams from reaching the area.
Press groups call for an international investigation
The Committee to Protect Journalists said Israel’s alleged failure to allow medical crews access to Khalil in time to save her could constitute a war crime and called for an urgent international investigation. CPJ said journalists are civilians protected under international law and that there was no evidence Khalil or Faraj were directly participating in hostilities.
Reporters Without Borders said Khalil’s killing and the alleged obstruction of rescue operations showed the need for accountability, saying in its reconstruction of the events that the strikes injured Faraj and left Khalil trapped while rescue teams were unable to reach her.
International pressure also widened after the United Kingdom and Finland, co-chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition, condemned attacks on journalists in Lebanon and urged all parties, including Israeli authorities, to ensure media workers can operate freely and safely, according to a report on their joint statement.
Older cases add context to latest Lebanon strike
Khalil’s death follows a series of earlier cases that press-freedom groups have cited as evidence of a worsening pattern for journalists covering the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. In March, CPJ said an Israeli strike on a media car killed Ali Shoaib of Al-Manar TV, Fatima Ftouni of Al-Mayadeen TV and freelance photojournalist Mohamad Ftouni on the Jezzine highway in southern Lebanon.
Days later, U.N. experts said the March killings should be promptly and independently investigated, warning that journalists working in armed conflict are civilians and must not be targeted. The experts also said an international investigation was needed into Israel’s killing of Lebanese journalists.
The concern stretches back to October 2023, when Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed and six other journalists were wounded in southern Lebanon. Amnesty International later said the strike on the group, whose members wore helmets and flak jackets marked “press,” was likely a direct attack on civilians that should be investigated as a war crime.
What investigators may examine next
Any independent inquiry is likely to focus on whether Khalil and Faraj were identifiable as journalists, whether Israeli forces knew or should have known their location, and whether medical access was delayed after the strike. It would also examine Israel’s claim that vehicles in the area posed an immediate threat and Lebanon’s claim that emergency responders were blocked from reaching Khalil.
For Lebanese journalists, Khalil’s death has become more than a single wartime tragedy. It has sharpened demands for a transparent investigation into how reporters are treated on Lebanon’s front lines and whether existing protections for journalists in war zones are being enforced.
