Thousands of mourners gathered in southern Lebanon for the funeral of journalist Amal Khalil, whose killing in an Israeli air strike has intensified tensions ahead of planned Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States.
Her casket, draped in the Lebanese flag, was carried through the narrow streets of her hometown of Baisariyeh alongside her blue helmet and flak jacket marked “press”.
From rooftops and balconies, women threw flowers as journalists and residents paid tribute, while prayers, gunfire, and fireworks marked the procession.
Large crowds carried posters bearing Khalil’s image, mourning what many described as the loss of a prominent journalist covering southern Lebanon.
Colleagues and supporters called for accountability, highlighting concerns over repeated attacks on media workers in the region.
Lebanese officials say Khalil was deliberately targeted while seeking shelter after an earlier strike, and that an ambulance was also hit, preventing timely rescue.
Khalil was later buried in her hometown, the same area where the strike that killed her took place.
Khalil was reporting on an earlier Israeli attack when she and her colleague Zeinab Faraj came under fire in the village of al-Tayri.
Lebanese authorities described the incident as a “double-tap” strike, with a second attack hitting the building where they had taken refuge.
Faraj was seriously wounded and rescued, while efforts to reach Khalil were delayed for hours, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
Officials, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, accused Israel of crimes against humanity, while President Joseph Aoun alleged a pattern of targeting journalists.