An Al-Akhbar employee was killed in southern Lebanon. IDF: Hezbollah-linked intruders were targeted

Lebanon reported that the body of journalist Amal Khalil, an employee of the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar newspaper, has been recovered from the rubble of a building destroyed by an attack in the village of At-Tiri in the south of the country.

According to Reuters, Amal Khalil and photojournalist Zeinab Faraj were covering the aftermath of an earlier strike when the IDF attacked a vehicle next to them. After this, the journalists took refuge in the house, which was then also hit. Faraj was wounded and evacuated.

Judging by reports in Lebanese sources, there were two men in the car next to the journalists. They were killed.

A senior Lebanese army official told Reuters that an Israeli drone also attacked rescuers.

The IDF said it recorded two vehicles leaving a building used by Hezbollah, crossing the front line of defense and approaching Israeli forces in violation of the ceasefire agreement. According to the army, one of the vehicles was attacked from the air, and then the building in which the suspects were hiding was struck. The IDF stressed that the army “does not act against journalists” and that reports of injured members of the press are being verified.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the IDF’s actions, saying that targeting journalists and obstructing rescue efforts was a war crime and vowed to push for an international review of the case. Lebanese officials blamed Israel for disrupting the rescue operation, while the Israeli army rejected claims it deliberately targeted journalists or blocked rescuers’ access.