Lebanese journalist killed in Israeli attack had spoken of death threat | Lebanon

The Lebanese journalist who was killed in an Israeli attack on Wednesday had previously filed a complaint. receive threats He told her through an unidentified Israeli phone number that he would be killed if he did not leave Southern Lebanon, where he had lived and worked for a long time.

43-year-old Amal Khalil, who worked for Al-Akhbar newspaper and stated that she supported the resistance against Israel, “whether communist or Islamist”, was killed and a colleague of hers was injured in the continuous attack of Israeli forces.

Rescuers who tried to pull him from the rubble of a building were also targeted and prevented from providing life-saving aid.

Khalil was the ninth journalist killed in Lebanon this year. Three journalists were killed in a double tap attack last month.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretzhas revealed that Israeli soldiers in Southern Lebanon were involved in large-scale looting.

Lebanese prime minister Nawaf Salam called the targeting of journalists and obstruction of aid efforts a war crime. International media rights organizations have expressed outrage over recent attacks on journalists in Gaza and Lebanon.

As more details about the murder emerged on Thursday, it became clear that the group Khalil was with had been attacked repeatedly for several hours and that Israeli forces were apparently aware of their identities.

According to his employer and the Lebanese health ministry, Khalil was working in the area of ​​the village of al-Tiri when the car he was traveling in was hit by an Israeli airstrike, killing two people and wounding him and his freelance photographer colleague Zeinab Faraj.

Khalil and Faraj hid in a house in al-Tiri, which was hit by another Israeli airstrike. Rescuers arrived at the scene and rescued Faraj, but Khalil remained trapped under the rubble for hours and Israeli forces opened fire on those trying to rescue him.

The Lebanese Journalists Union said Israeli forces blocked access to the area and used stun grenades as medics tried to save him. Khalil’s body was recovered shortly before midnight, at least six hours after the attack.

Israel denied targeting journalists or preventing rescue teams from reaching the area and said the incident was under investigation. Previous “investigations” rarely blamed Israeli forces, who often tried to suggest that the killed journalists were members of armed groups.

The IDF said it detected two vehicles “leaving a military structure used by Hezbollah”, without providing evidence for the claim. It was stated that one of the vehicles approached Israeli troops in a way that posed an “immediate threat” after passing the “forward defense line” in violation of the ceasefire.

Khalil told local media in 2024 that he received a death threat from Israel, warning him to leave the south and threatening to destroy his house and decapitate him.

Khalil said he “received a message from an Israeli enemy urging him to leave the south.” “I have informed the relevant authorities about this as the enemy has recently used this tactic along with many others there,” he said.

According to Khalil, the warning, allegedly sent from an Israeli phone number, included details of his recent movements and said: “We know where you are and we will reach you when the time is right.” It was not clear who sent the message.

Reporters Without Borders condemned Israel’s latest killing of a journalist. Executive Director Clayton Weimer said the IDF had received messages from his organization, as well as from journalists, asking for ambulances to be allowed to go to Hebron.

“The Red Cross signaled that they would not be able to pass due to ongoing Israeli bombardment. So this is pure recklessness in addition to the deliberate and targeted killing of a journalist,” Weimer said.

Committee to Protect Journalists He also condemned the attack. “Repeated attacks on the same location, targeting an area hosting journalists, and denying medical and humanitarian access are serious violations of international humanitarian law,” regional director Sara Qudah said. “CPJ holds Israeli forces responsible for the endangerment of Amal Khalil’s life and the injuries Zeinab Faraj suffered following a targeted attack on their location.”

In a later interview with Al Jazeera, Qudah said: “The Israeli army’s obstruction of medical teams from rescuing injured civilians is a brutal and repeated crime that we have witnessed before in Gaza and now in Lebanon.”

The outrage over Khalil’s death followed Haaretz’s allegations of widespread looting by Israeli soldiers during the occupation of southern Lebanon. Soldiers interviewed for the article described “large-scale looting of motorcycles, televisions, paintings, sofas and rugs”, while sources claimed officers were aware of this and failed to stop it.

The IDF told the newspaper that it took disciplinary and punitive measures when necessary, and that Israeli military police carried out inspections “at the northern border crossing as forces were exiting the conflict.”