Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has accused Israel of war crimes following airstrikes that killed journalist Amal Khalil and injured another in southern Lebanon. Lebanese officials claim Khalil, a journalist for Al-Akhbar newspaper, and freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj were deliberately targeted as they took shelter in a home. Officials also accuse the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of intentionally targeting a marked ambulance attempting to reach the journalists in Tayri.
The IDF has denied preventing rescue teams from reaching the area and stated it does not target journalists. The military said it identified two vehicles that had departed from a Hezbollah military structure and that one approached Israeli troops in a threatening manner, violating a ceasefire. The IDF confirmed striking one vehicle and the structure from which individuals had fled.
Lebanon's health ministry stated the IDF pursued Khalil and Faraj to a house where they had taken refuge and later directed gunfire and a stun grenade toward an approaching Red Cross ambulance, preventing its access. Reporters Without Borders' executive director, Clayton Weimer, called this a "callous disregard, on top of what appears to be a deliberate and targeted killing of a journalist."
