Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon kill Lebanese journalist, wound another
New Delhi: Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded photographer Zeinab Faraj, according to a senior Lebanese military official and Khalil’s employer, the Al-Akhbar newspaper.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defence Forces on Khalil’s death, though earlier the military said it had received reports that two journalists were injured in the strikes.
Khalil’s death brought the toll from Wednesday’s attacks to five, marking the deadliest day since a 10-day ceasefire was announced on April 16 between Israel and Hezbollah.
Khalil and the freelance photographer Faraj were covering developments near the town of al-Tayri when an Israeli strike hit a vehicle ahead of them. They took shelter in a nearby house, which was later struck, according to Lebanon’s health ministry and press advocates.
Rescuers managed to pull Faraj from the site with a head injury, said Elsy Moufarrej of the Union of Journalists in Lebanon. However, attempts to reach Khalil were initially blocked after what Moufarrej and the senior military official said was the deployment of a sound grenade near the scene.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the incident, calling the targeting of journalists and obstruction of rescue efforts “war crimes,” and said Lebanon would pursue the matter through international channels.
“Lebanon will spare no effort in pursuing these crimes before the relevant international bodies,” he said on X.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israel’s military “prevented the completion of the humanitarian mission by firing a sound grenade and live ammunition at the ambulance.”
Rescue workers returned to the site about four hours later and after an extended 3-hour search through the rubble, recovered Khalil’s body.
Al-Akhbar announced her death on its website.
In its earlier statement, the Israeli military denied it prevented rescue teams from reaching the area.
Israel Says Cars Entered Buffer Zone
Two people were killed in the initial strike on a car, according to Lebanese state media, though their identities could not be immediately confirmed.
The Israeli military said it identified two vehicles that left a military structure used by Lebanese armed group 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.
The military said the vehicles “approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat to their safety” prompting a strike on one of the cars followed by a second strike on a nearby building. It maintained that journalists are not deliberately targeted.
In March, an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed three journalists, with the military stating at the time that one of them was the intended target.
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 2,400 people have been killed since Israel launched its offensive following Hezbollah’s March 2 attack.
Israel has since taken control of a stretch of territory along the border where its troops remain, saying the objective is to establish a buffer zone to protect northern Israel after Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets during the conflict.
(DD News)
