Lebanese Journalist Amal Khalil Killed in Israeli Strike

Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil of the Al Akhbar newspaper was killed Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, becoming the fourth media worker slain by Israel in the country since March. Lebanon's prime minister accused Israel of war crimes as the death toll from the day's strikes climbed.

Strike in Tayri

Khalil was killed at the site of Tayri, also referenced as at-Tiri, in southern Lebanon. Freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj was critically injured in the same incident. At least four to five people were killed in the broader day's strikes, according to CNN, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post and The Times of Israel.

Khalil and Faraj had gone to the area to cover an earlier Israeli drone strike on a car that killed two civilians. The journalists took shelter inside a house, which was then hit. Rescue operations were delayed for hours because of continued Israeli strikes in the vicinity, according to multiple accounts.

Press-Freedom Toll

Khalil is the fourth media worker killed by Israel in Lebanon since March, a grim marker for press-freedom advocates who have warned repeatedly that journalists covering the Israel-Hezbollah conflict face escalating risk. The body of Khalil, who wrote for the pro-Hezbollah Al Akhbar daily, was pulled from the rubble of the struck home, according to The Times of Israel.

Political Response

Lebanon's prime minister publicly accused Israel of committing war crimes in response to the day's strikes. The accusation adds to the diplomatic pressure on Israel amid the broader Middle East escalation and comes as the separate U.S.-Iran ceasefire track remains fragile after incidents in the Strait of Hormuz.

The killing underscores the persistent danger to local reporters who remain in southern Lebanon to document a conflict that has killed civilians and pressed press-freedom norms.