Israel hunts down journalists during ceasefire in Southern Lebanon

Israel has assassinated a journalist in Lebanon, after threatening her and then hunting her down.

The genocidal terrorist state murdered Amal Khalil, a journalist with Al-Akhbar newspaper, in a double-tap attack in al-Tayri, Southern Lebanon, on Wednesday, April 22.

Khalil and Zeinab Faraj, a freelance photojournalist, were both reporting on the recent attacks on the village of Bint Jbeil. Faraj was also severely injured in the attack, but remains in a stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery, which highlights the ongoing danger faced by journalists covering Lebanon’s conflicts.

Double-tap attack

At 2:45pm on Wednesday, an Israeli drone targeted the car they were driving behind, killing the two men inside. Khalil and Faraj took shelter in a nearby house within Lebanon as events unfolded.

At 2:50pm, Khalil called her editors and family, and news of the attack quickly reached Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, who put out a statement calling on the Red Cross to rescue them in coordination with the Lebanese Army and the United Nations.

Then, at 4:27pm, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) bombed the house where the two journalists were taking refuge. The mounting violence in Lebanon against media workers continues to shock observers.

To make matters worse, Israel then ignored requests for access to conduct a rescue operation. Eventually, the IOF granted the Red Cross limited access to the site, but the site remained under active fire within Lebanon’s border.

According to Drop Site News:

They were able to evacuate Faraj, who reportedly sustained critical head injuries, and to recover the bodies of two other civilians who were killed. But they were forced to withdraw before finding Khalil because of continued shelling and the direct firing on rescue crews and vehicles. The Red Cross vehicle that transported journalist Faraj to Tubnin Governmental Hospital was hit by Israeli gunfire, with bullet marks visible on the vehicle, according to the state-run National News Agency.

The Red Cross was eventually able to return to the area after which Khalil was pronounced dead.

So not only is Israel purposefully targeting journalists, but it is also targeting the rescue workers and vehicles attempting to save their lives. Such incidents should be condemned, especially given their impact on Lebanon.

Premeditation

In an interview before the attack, Khalil received “direct threats” to her phone from both Mossad and the Israelis, threatening to kill her. She said:

They were literally saying they would sever my head from my shoulders if I didn’t leave south Lebanon.”

One of the Israelis who threatened Khalil was Gideon Gal Ben Avraham. He is a retired military officer who continues to “help” Israeli intelligence, threatened Khalil. He also claims to be a media commentator – but by Israel’s own standards, that means terrorist. Clearly, such threats are not uncommon for journalists reporting from Lebanon, especially those challenging powerful interests.

Importantly, international humanitarian law protects journalists. Under the Geneva Convention [Article 79], journalists should be treated as civilians and protected as such. This means targeting them is illegal under international and Lebanon’s domestic law.

Obviously, Israel has no regard for international law. But the international community continues to turn away as Israel murders journalist after journalist in Lebanon and elsewhere.

The IOF has always had one goal: silencing voices that expose its war crimes. As Nour Mahmoud, from Al-Akhbar, wrote:

The Israeli occupation army deliberately works to silence any voice that exposes its actions. The crime did not begin with the missile that hit Amal Khalil’s car in the town of Al-Tiri, nor did it end with the shell that followed her to the house where she had taken refuge

In this context, the systematic targeting of journalists is no longer a mere incidental detail, but rather part of a broader strategy: to rid the field of its eyes and voices. Here, the journalist is not seen as a neutral civilian, but as a direct threat because they possess something that cannot be easily erased: evidence

Since October 2023, Israel has assassinated at least 15 journalists, including Khalil, in Lebanon. Additionally, in Gaza, the IOF has murdered over 260 Palestinian journalists. These figures make it the deadliest ever war for journalists – but we all know that this is not a war — it’s a genocide.

The systematic targeting of journalists is Israel’s attempt to erase the evidence, and the silence from the majority of the international journalism community is deafening. Meanwhile, the suffering of Lebanon’s people and journalists is ongoing.

Feature image via the Canary

By HG

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