Amal Khalil spent nearly two decades documenting life under recurring conflict in southern Lebanon, focusing on civilians living along the Israel-Hezbollah faultline.
She died after a reported “double-tap” Israeli strike hit a house where she had taken shelter while covering escalating tensions near the border.
Her killing has drawn international scrutiny, with press freedom groups seeking an investigation into the strike and alleged delays in rescue efforts.
The Last Assignment: Amal Khalil and the Israeli Strike That Killed Her
A veteran Al-Akhbar reporter rooted in southern Lebanon’s conflict zones, Amal Khalil was killed in an Israeli strike while on assignment, her death raising urgent questions about the safety of journalists in war.
Summary
Amal Khalil did not report on war from a distance. For nearly two decades, the 43-year-old correspondent for Al-Akhbar worked out of southern Lebanon, returning repeatedly to the country’s volatile borderlands which was marred by continuous conflicts.
Those who knew her describe a reporter shaped by proximity. Since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Khalil chronicled the everyday consequences of conflict: families displaced by airstrikes, villages emptied and rebuilt, and the slow erosion of normalcy in Lebanon’s south. Her journalism stayed close to the ground, attentive to civilian life in a region defined by militarised skies.
That closeness also made her vulnerable. In the months before her death, Khalil had spoken publicly about receiving threats from a number linked to Israel warning her to leave southern Lebanon, an ominous prelude to her final assignment.
Mourners throw flowers and rice over the coffin of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, who was killed Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike, during her funeral procession in the village of Baysariyeh in southern Lebanon on Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
On April 22, 2026, she was reporting near the village of al-Tiri, close to the Israeli border, as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalated despite a fragile ceasefire. She was travelling with photojournalist Zeinab Faraj when an Israeli strike hit a vehicle ahead of them, killing those inside, and injuring Faraj.
Khalil and Faraj ran for cover, taking shelter inside a nearby house. What followed has been described by Lebanese officials and press freedom groups as a “double-tap” strike, a tactic in which a second attack follows an initial one, often hitting rescuers or those who seek refuge. The house they had entered was struck again.
Faraj survived with injuries. Khalil was trapped beneath the rubble. For hours, she remained buried as rescue efforts struggled to reach her. Lebanese authorities and witnesses allege that Israeli fire and stun grenades forced emergency responders to withdraw, delaying access to the site. By the time rescuers returned and pulled her out, she was dead.
Article: Mourners hold posters that show portraits of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, who was killed Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike, during her funeral procession in the village of Baysariyeh in southern Lebanon on Thursday, April 23, 2026. AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari
Israel has denied targeting journalists, maintaining that the strikes were aimed at Hezbollah-linked positions and that the incident is under review.
Khalil’s killing has since drawn international condemnation. Press freedom organisations have called for an investigation, warning that both the strike and the alleged obstruction of rescue efforts could constitute violations of international humanitarian law.
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She was the ninth journalist killed in Lebanon this year.
Other journalists killed in Lebanon
Ali Nour al-Din — Al-Manar presenter (killed Jan 2026)
Mohammad Shari — Al-Manar director (killed March 2026)
Hussain Hamood — Al-Manar photojournalist (killed March 2026)
Ali Shaib — Al-Manar reporter (killed March 2026)
Ghada Dayekh — Sawt Al-Farah presenter (killed April 2026)
Suzan Khalil — Al-Manar presenter/reporter (killed April 2026)
Fatima Ftouni — Al Mayadeen broadcaster
Mohammed Ftouni — Al Mayadeen cameraman
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