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Alsharq Tribune- Al Otaify
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded a photographer while they were working near the border with Israel, according to a senior Lebanese military official. Earlier, the Israeli military said in a statement it had received reports that two journalists were injured as a result of its strikes.
The death of Khalil, 43, brought the death toll on Wednesday to five people. It was the deadliest day since a 10-day ceasefire was announced on April 16 to halt hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Khalil and freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj were covering developments near the town of al-Tayri when an Israeli strike hit the vehicle in front of them.
They ran into a nearby house, which was then also targeted by an Israeli strike, Lebanon's health ministry, the senior Lebanese military official and press advocates said. Lebanese rescuers were able to retrieve Faraj, who had suffered a head wound.
When rescuers returned to help Khalil, the Israeli military dropped a sound grenade, blocking their access to the damaged building, the senior military official said. Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the targeting of journalists and the obstruction of relief efforts constituted "war crimes."
"Lebanon will spare no effort in pursuing these crimes before the relevant international bodies," he said on X. Information Minister Paul Morcos said Khalil "was targeted by the Israeli army while carrying out her professional duty" "The targeting of journalists is a grave crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law," he added on X.
The health ministry said Israel's military "prevented the completion of the humanitarian mission by firing a sound grenade and live ammunition at the ambulance."
Rescuers were able to return to the site about four hours after the initial strike. After another three hours of searching through the rubble, they were able to retrieve her lifeless body, the senior military official said.
Two people were killed in the first strike on the car, Lebanese state media reported.
The Israeli military said it identified two vehicles that left a military structure used by Hezbollah and crossed the "forward defense line," the term Israel's military uses to refer to the delineation of the zone of southern Lebanon that Israeli troops are occupying.
It said the cars "approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat to their safety" and that it struck one of the vehicles, then a nearby building.
