Israel accused of war crimes after ‘targeted’ killing of journalist | World News

Israel has again been accused of targeting journalists after the death of a reporter working in southern Lebanon.

Amal Khalil, who worked for the Al Akhbar newspaper, was killed on Wednesday.

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She was apparently targeted because she was in one of several vehicles which moved into the Israeli occupation zone.

Israel has said it’s investigating the strikes and denies targeting rescue efforts. But it has been accused by Lebanon’s prime minister of deliberately targeting journalists and obstructing rescue efforts.

Nawaf Salam said this conduct constituted “war crimes” and that targeting media workers had “become an established approach”.

“Lebanon will spare no effort in pursuing these crimes before the competent international forums,” he added.

What do Lebanese officials say happened?

Khalil worked for Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, which is aligned with Hezbollah – the Iranian proxy group Israel is waging war against.

She had sought shelter in a house from an Israeli strike, together with a colleague.

The house was then hit in a second strike, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Emergency teams later recovered Khalil’s colleague, Zeinab Faraj, alive with injuries and transferred her to hospital.

She is undergoing surgery, according to local reports.

A Lebanese Red Cross ambulance sent to evacuate casualties came under a stun grenade attack and live fire, at first preventing rescuers from reaching Khalil, the health ministry added.

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Killed 59 minutes before ceasefire

What has Khalil’s newspaper said?

Al Akhbar said a press vest no longer protected those who wore it but had “become a danger to journalists’ lives”.

Like the Lebanese PM, it accused Israel of a “systematic policy aimed at silencing anyone who seeks to expose the crimes and practices of the occupation”.

It also shared its account of Wednesday’s incident, citing Lebanese civil defence information:

2.45pm: Khalil was driving behind a car when it was struck by Israeli forces, killing what the IDF called two “terrorists”. Khalil stopped driving and sought refuge in the first nearby house.

2.50pm: Khalil contacted “several people” and said she was hiding from the shelling.

4.27pm: Israeli planes struck the house, at which point contact to Khalil was lost. When the Lebanese Red Cross arrived, Israeli troops “fired a stun grenade at the ambulance and also targeted it with gunfire, preventing rescue”.

Israel’s response

Israel’s military said individuals in the village had violated the ceasefire, endangering its troops. Israel denied that it targets journalists or that it prevented rescue teams from reaching the area. It said the incident was under review.

At least eight media workers have now been killed in Lebanon in connection with their work since the start of the wider war with Iran, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Earlier this month, UN experts accused Israel of killing journalists to “silence reporting” on its military campaign.

But the Israeli military has previously insisted it gives advance warning of its attacks to protect civilians.

It has also accused Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields to defend its actions when there are unintended casualties.

It also often claims some media workers are affiliated with groups it is at war with, including Hamas in Gaza, and are “operating under the guise of journalists”.