Lebanon accuses Israel of war crimes after journalist killed in airstrike
Photo from open sources
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Tel Aviv of war crimes following the death of journalist Amal Khalil in the south of the country as a result of an airstrike, CNN reports.
According to the Lebanese news agency NNA, Amal Khalil, who worked for the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, was killed while performing her journalistic duties. It is noted that she is the fourth media worker to have been killed as a result of Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March.
The Lebanese authorities identified the other journalist as Zeinab Faraj, a freelance photojournalist. Al Akhbar is a left-wing newspaper that supports Hezbollah.
The two journalists took cover during a series of airstrikes in the city of Tayri in southern Lebanon when the building they were in was hit.
Lebanese authorities also accused Israeli forces of attempting to prevent emergency responders from rescuing them, and Red Cross workers transported Faraj to the hospital under enemy fire, according to NNA.
"Targeting journalists and obstructing the access of rescue teams to them, and then the renewed targeting of those teams after they’d arrived, constitute described war crimes," Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote on his X.
Israel's position
The Israeli military acknowledged that two journalists were injured as a result of the strikes but stated that it "does not target journalists and acts to mitigate harm to them while maintaining the safety and security of its troops".
Israel also insisted that it did not prevent the teams from accessing the area and stated that the details of the incident are being investigated.
The IDF added that its forces in southern Lebanon had spotted two vehicles leaving a "military structure", which, according to them, was being used by Hezbollah.
According to them, the "terrorists" in the vehicles approached the forces in a threatening manner. The military then attacked one of the vehicles and the building from which these people fled.
"CNN cannot independently verify either the Lebanese or Israeli accounts," the news agency reports.
Israel continued its attacks on Hezbollah targets despite the declared ceasefire, which was reached with Lebanon on April 17.
A second round of direct talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials is scheduled for Thursday in Washington, according to an Israeli official and a State Department representative.
