Lebanese reporter killed, photojournalist wounded in southern Lebanon strike

A strike in southern Lebanon killed reporter Amal Khalil and wounded photojournalist Zeinab Faraj, then left rescue crews pinned down for hours as they tried to reach the site near al-Tiri in the Bint Jbeil district.

Lebanese officials said the two journalists had taken shelter in a nearby house after an earlier strike when they were hit. Khalil, who reported for Al-Akhbar, died in the attack. Lebanese authorities said two other people were also killed at the same site, underscoring how quickly the violence around the Israel-Lebanon frontier has spilled beyond combatants and into civilian and media work.

Health officials said rescue efforts were obstructed by Israeli fire. One account said a sound grenade and live ammunition were fired at an ambulance, forcing emergency crews to pull back. Rescuers were reportedly unable to return for about four hours, a delay that could be fatal in any blast zone and one that raises grave questions about the protection of medical teams operating under fire.

The incident landed as Israel and Lebanon remain in a fragile, unfinished cycle of cross-border hostilities despite ceasefire efforts. It also sharpened fears among journalists covering the south, where reporters and photographers often work close to active strikes, road closures and rescue scenes with little margin for safety. When news crews become trapped alongside the wounded, the line between witness and target can disappear in an instant.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the targeting of journalists and the obstruction of relief efforts constituted “war crimes,” and the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was outraged and believed the journalists had been apparently targeted. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Khalil’s death. For press freedom advocates, the episode is more than another battlefield death; it is a warning that independent reporting in southern Lebanon is being pushed deeper into danger, even as civilians, medics and reporters alike are left exposed to the same strike zone.