Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil killed by Israeli bomb strike during ceasefire

Prominent Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed on Wednesday in what appears to be a targeted attack by the Israeli military in Tyre, South Lebanon.

Al-Akhbar, Khalil’s employer, published a timeline of the events that led up to her death. Khalil and Zeinab Faraj, a freelance photojournalist, were both on assignment in southern Lebanon, reporting on recent attacks on the southern village of Bint Jbeil.

The car they were driving behind was targeted by an Israeli drone at 2:45 p.m, killing two men inside. Khalil and Faraj then took shelter in a nearby house.

According to Lebanon-based journalist Courtney Bonneau, Khalil shared her location with her editors and family. News of the incident spread quickly, which led to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to put out a statement calling on the Red Cross to rescue the two journalists in coordination with the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

At 4:27 p.m., the Israeli military bombed the house where the two journalists were taking refuge. Contact with the journalists was lost, according to Al-Akhbar.

Israel did not respond to Lebanese authorities, the Red Cross, or the UN, which obstructed any rescue operation. The Red Cross was granted limited access, but remained under active fire.

The Red Cross evacuated Faraj, critically injured, and recovered the bodies of two other civilians who were killed. They were forced to retreat before finding Khalil due to shelling and direct firing on rescue crews and vehicles.

After hours of obstruction, the Red Cross retrieved Khalil’s dead body from the rubble.

The Red Cross vehicle that transported journalist Faraj to the hospital was hit by Israeli gunfire, with bullet marks visible on the vehicle, according to the state-run National News Agency.

“The repeated strikes on the same location, the targeting of an area where journalists were sheltering, and the obstruction of medical and humanitarian access constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “CPJ holds Israeli forces responsible for the endangerment of Amal Khalil’s life and the injuries Zeinab Faraj sustained after the targeted strike on their location.

Lebanese authorities are condemning the incident as a grave breach of international humanitarian law.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam released a statement on X, condemning Israel’s actions as war crimes, and claims that Israel’s targeting of journalists is an established pattern.

Israel’s “Double-tap” strikes constitute a war crime

Repeated strikes on the same location is a documented strategy by the Israeli military. Israel is known for bombing locations multiple times to target medics, rescue crews, and civilians that arrive on scene to evacuate the victims of the initial attack. This is a practice widely known as the ‘double-tap‘.

Reports of ‘triple’, or ‘quadruple-taps‘ in Lebanon reveal a distressing intensification and expansion of what is already considered a violation of humanitarian law.

There is substantial evidence that a “double-tap” was used in the 2024 killing of 5-year old Hind Rajab in Gaza. Israel approved the entry of an ambulance for her rescue, and then targeted the ambulance and the emergency responders inside.

In 2025, Israel’s “double-tap” strikes on Nasser Hospital killed at least 20 people. The initial strike killed at least one person, and then others including journalists and healthcare workers were killed in a second strike minutes later.

Amal Khalil, journalist of South Lebanon

Referred to by Al-Akhbar as their “correspondent of the south,” Khalil grew up in Baysariyyeh, a coastal town in Saida district about a 45-minute drive from the Israeli border. She spent more than a decade and a half covering the cyclical wars and occupations of southern Lebanon by the Israeli military.

Israel has killed at least 14 journalists, including Khalil, in Lebanon since October 2023, according to CPJ. In Gaza, the Israeli military has killed over 260 Palestinian journalists since October 2023, making it the deadliest war for journalists ever recorded.