Journalist Killed in Lebanon After Israeli Airstrike

The body of a Lebanese reporter was pulled from the wreckage of a house in southern Lebanon late Wednesday night. The house had been struck by an Israeli air raid, and the journalist died hours after the blast. Israeli forces said they were targeting Hezbollah fighters who had crossed a “forward defense line” into an area under Israeli control. They added that any impact on journalists was still being examined. Al‑Akhbar, a newspaper linked to Hezbollah, confirmed that its correspondent Amal Khalil was among those killed. She had taken shelter in a village home after an earlier strike hit her vehicle and that of a colleague. The Lebanese health ministry reported that the first attack killed two people, whose bodies were recovered by rescue teams. Those rescuers later came under fire themselves, which stopped them from reaching Khalil until just before midnight. A journalist union spokesperson said that a rescuer named Faraj suffered a head injury during the operation. According to Israeli statements, the incident started when troops spotted two vehicles leaving a building known as a Hezbollah base in the area. The fighters crossed into Israeli territory, posing an immediate threat. An air strike hit one vehicle and then a building where the fighters fled.After the attack, Israeli officials received reports that two journalists were injured. They denied that they blocked rescue teams and claimed they are careful not to target media personnel while protecting their soldiers. They also said the area had been evacuated and a map of the defensive line was shared publicly. Khalil’s death comes just before a second round of talks in Washington, DC about extending a ceasefire that began last Friday. Lebanon’s Prime Minister condemned the killing as a war crime and promised to bring the matter before international bodies. Khalil, from southern Lebanon, had reported on Israeli demolitions in villages now occupied by Israeli forces as a buffer zone. Her death brings the total number of journalists killed in Lebanon this year to nine. Lebanon’s official figures show that at least 2, 300 people have died in Israeli strikes since the latest conflict began on March 2. The Israel Defense Forces claim they have killed around 1, 700 Hezbollah operatives, including many from the group’s elite Radwan Force. Earlier in March, an Israeli airstrike killed three journalists covering the war: Ali Shoeib of Hezbollah’s Al‑Manar TV, Fatima Ftouni and her brother Mohammed Ftouni of Al‑Mayadeen TV. A separate strike on a Beirut apartment killed Mohammed Sherri, head of political programs for Al‑Manar, and his wife. These incidents highlight the ongoing danger faced by reporters in conflict zones where military operations intersect with civilian and media presence.