Prominent Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed on Wednesday in what appeared to be a targeted attack by the Israeli military in the town of Tyre in southern Lebanon. Her employer, Al-Akhbar, confirmed the death of their correspondent Wednesday evening.
Khalil and Zeinab Faraj, a freelance photojournalist, were both on assignment in southern Lebanon, reporting on recent attacks on the southern village of Bint Jbeil. According to Al-Akhbar, which published a timeline of the events, the car they were driving behind was targeted by an Israeli drone at 2:45 p.m, killing two men inside. Khalil and Faraj took shelter in a nearby house.
At 2:50 p.m., Khalil contacted her editors and family, according to Lebanon-based journalist Courtney Bonneau. News of the incident quickly spread, prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to put out a statement calling on the Red Cross to rescue the two journalists in coordination with the Lebanese Army and the United Nations.
At 4:27 p.m., the house where the two journalists were taking refuge was bombed by the Israeli military and contact with the journalists was lost, according to Al-Akhbar.