A voice silenced: Journalist Amal Khalil's final assignment ends in tragedy

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi  

Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed following an Israeli strike in the southern village of Al-Tiri, in an incident that witnesses and colleagues described as a targeted and sustained attack that lasted several hours and prevented immediate rescue efforts.

According to accounts from colleagues on the ground, Amal was reporting in the area when an Israeli drone allegedly targeted her vehicle with a munition. She and her colleague Zeinab reportedly took shelter inside a nearby building, which was later struck by an Israeli air raid.

Emergency responders said they were unable to reach the site immediately due to continued strikes and warnings in the area. Two hours later, the Lebanese Red Cross evacuated two civilians and the journalist's colleague, while efforts to locate Amal continued for hours amid unstable conditions.

Rescue teams said coordination with the international mechanism overseeing ceasefire arrangements was required before they were allowed to proceed. After a delay, access was granted, and Lebanese Army units accompanied Red Cross and Civil Defense teams to the site late at night.

Search operations continued for hours until just after 11 p.m., when responders recovered her body from the rubble, according to officials involved in the operation.

Colleagues described Amal as a field journalist deeply connected to South Lebanon, saying she had long reported from the frontlines of conflict. They said she had previously been threatened and accused by Israeli military spokespersons in 2024, using a video of her with a cat.

Amal was mourned by her family and friends and was described as "the bride of the south," and "the heart of field reporting," just as our colleagues mourned martyrs of Israeli attacks before her.