Who was Amal Khalil? The Killing of a Lebanese Journalist is the Loss of Courage of Journalism

The 43-year-old journalist Amal Khalil worked for the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed and photojournalist Zeinab Faraj was injured in a targeted Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Wednesday, April 22. Both were on assignment in southern Lebanon, reporting on recent attacks on the southern village of Bint Jbeil.

The 43-year-old journalist worked for the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. The attackers also fired on an ambulance while it was trying to reach them. Due to continuous shelling and direct fire on rescue teams and vehicles, they were forced to retreat before finding Khalil, resulting in Amal Khalil not being rescued alive.

Officials accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of deliberately targeting a marked ambulance as it was trying to reach journalists in the village of Tyre. However, the IDF denied that it was preventing rescue teams from reaching the area. The IDF defended itself by saying it did not target journalists.

Amal Khalil was a highly professional, sensitive, and dedicated journalist. Those who knew her say that working with her was always a pleasure. She believed in uncovering the ground reality and never backed down, even in difficult circumstances.

It has also emerged that some people had previously threatened her, saying that the way she was reporting was extremely risky, but Amal prioritized her responsibility to expose the truth and remained steadfast in her path.

Journalists Killed in April 2025 #Media #PressFreedom #Journalismhttps://t.co/keombRL4TX

— VOiCE OF MEDIA (@voiceofmedia1) April 19, 2026

CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah said in a statement, "This is against international humanitarian law. Repeated attacks on the same location, targeting the area where journalists were sheltering, and obstructing medical and humanitarian access are serious violations."

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said, "Targeting journalists, obstructing relief teams from reaching them, and even targeting their bases again after these teams have arrived constitutes a war crime." He accused Israel of repeatedly targeting media workers in southern Lebanon, which he described as "an established pattern."

The death of journalist Amal Khalil is not just a loss of an individual, but a loss of the courage of journalism, which is willing to face every risk to bring the truth to the world.