Amal Khalil, a reporter for the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, had gained renown for her intrepidity and her resolve over two decades of covering round after round of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
On Wednesday, she was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the village of Tayri in southern Lebanon. She remained trapped under rubble for hours before emergency medics recovered her body, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense.
At her family’s home on Thursday, mourners gathered to pay their respects and vent their anger at what they saw not just as the blatant targeting of civilians but a violation of Israel’s and Hezbollah’s temporary cease-fire.
“You couldn’t ask Amal to be careful,” her brother Ali Khalil said as he received condolences. “This is the only time I know Amal’s address: she’s in the grave. She used to move nonstop from one village to another in the south,” he said. “Now I know where my sister is.”
Zeinab Faraj, a photojournalist and colleague of Ms. Khalil’s, was rescued from the house.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said the Israeli military had targeted the journalists in Tayri, where they took shelter in a nearby house after an airstrike destroyed a vehicle in front of the car they were traveling in. About an hour and a half later, a second strike hit the house they were hiding in, according to a statement by Al-Akhbar.
Amid the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon, Israel has continued strikes against what it says are Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, citing its right to self-defense. The Israeli military denied in a statement that it had prevented rescuers from reaching the injured journalists, and said the incident was under investigation.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said Israeli forces had spotted two vehicles emerging from a military building used by Hezbollah. The military observed the vehicles cross what the spokeswoman called the forward defense line, determining the move to be a violation of the truce agreement.
Lebanon’s prime minister, as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Ms. Khalil’s employer disputed Israel’s justifications, and condemned what they said was the deliberate targeting of journalists and humanitarian workers.
“As with every act of aggression, wearing a press vest did not protect those who wore it from the treachery of the Israeli enemy,” Al-Akhbar said in a statement. “Instead, it has become a danger to journalists’ lives, as part of a systematic Israeli policy aimed at silencing anyone who seeks to expose the crimes and practices of the occupation.”
Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Baysariyeh, Lebanon.
Max Bearak is a correspondent for The Times focusing on breaking and international news.
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