The President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, expressed his sorrow over the martyrdom of journalist Amal Khalil due to the Israeli bombing that targeted the town of Al-Tayri yesterday, also injuring journalist Zeinab Faraj.

Aoun stated that Israel's deliberate targeting of journalists aims to hide the reality of its aggressive violations against Lebanon, in addition to being crimes against humanity punishable by international laws and norms, and serves as a motivation for international intervention to put an end to them.

Aoun offered his condolences to the family of the martyred journalist who joined the convoy of martyr journalists who preceded her on the path of martyrdom in southern Lebanon. He also extended his condolences to the family of the newspaper "Al-Akhbar" and the Lebanese and Arab media family, asking for mercy for her and patience and solace for them all. He also wished a speedy recovery to her colleague Zeinab Faraj who was injured in the same attack.

Journalist Amal Khalil was martyred in the airstrike that targeted her in the town of Al-Tayri, southern Lebanon, after contact was lost with her following the targeting of a car around which journalists and civilians were present, before her body was later found at the site.

The Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, condemned the targeting of journalists in southern Lebanon, considering that what is happening is no longer isolated incidents but a pattern that requires international action and accountability of the perpetrators.

What happened with journalists Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj in Al-Tayri, southern Lebanon

According to field data, Khalil was accompanying journalist Zeinab Faraj, who was first found under the rubble and transported to Tibnin Hospital for head surgery.

In an initial narrative of what happened with them, field data reveals a timeline of events preceding the martyrdom of journalist Amal Khalil and the injury of her colleague Zeinab Faraj in the town of Al-Tayri.

The journalists Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj.

According to the information, at 14:30, a drone targeted a civilian car accompanying the journalists' car, resulting in two martyrs, while Khalil and Faraj sought shelter near a tree. Contact was immediately made with ambulance teams and army intelligence, and the evacuation task was assigned to the Red Cross, which was awaiting permission to move through the "mechanism".

At around 16:00, the drone conducted a second strike near them, targeting their car, after which Khalil contacted her colleagues and informed them of what was happening. They then sought shelter near a house amid the continuing delay in the arrival of relief teams.

About half an hour to an hour later, with reports of not allowing access to the location and closing the road between Hadatha and Bint Jbeil, the fighter jet launched a new strike on the town, which later turned out to have targeted the house they sought refuge in.

About ten minutes after the last raid, the Red Cross vehicles were permitted to move to the site.

Khalil's colleagues reported that she "received threats a few days ago, knowing that she was accustomed to covering wars from southern Lebanon."

Journalist Zeinab Faraj underwent a head surgery, while reports indicated that the site where she and journalist Amal Khalil were located was bombed multiple times, leading to its destruction.

The Syndicate of Workers in Visual and Audio Media Mourns Amal Khalil: "The Enemy Intensifies the Targeting of Free Speech" 

The Syndicate of Workers in Visual and Audio Media condemned in a statement "in the strongest terms, the ongoing targeting of Lebanese media professionals and journalists by the Zionist enemy in a systematic practice that amounts to a crime, as it intensely 'hunts' the free word with cold blood, indifferent to any moral or legal restraint, and to any concern for what is called the international community."

It stated: "This criminal behavior constitutes not only a blatant violation of the freedom of media work, but also a flagrant insult to the Lebanese state, whose sovereignty and dignity are supposed to be safeguarded, especially in light of talks about negotiating paths met only with more aggression by the enemy."

It recalled that "targeting journalists clearly violates all international conventions that guarantee freedom of journalistic work and the protection of journalists during conflict, primarily international humanitarian laws that mandate the protection of civilians, including those in the media field."

It added: "As the syndicate offers its deepest condolences to the Lebanese people in general and the media body in particular, it mourns the martyr journalist Amal Khalil, a journalist for 'Al-Akhbar' newspaper, who was martyred on the path of truth, witnessing the brutality of an enemy that does not hesitate to target words as it targets humans."

The syndicate also extends its heartfelt condolences to the family of 'Al-Akhbar' newspaper, its management, and colleagues, asking them to have patience and resilience."

It continued: "This enemy, anchored on our sacred land, only persists in its crimes due to international protection that allows it permanent escape from accountability, which places direct responsibility on the international community for this complicit silence."

It stated: "In this reality, the syndicate believes that the national duty requires all factions of the Lebanese people to strengthen national options that would bolster Lebanon's resilience and deter the occupation from persisting in its recklessness and aggression."

It reiterated its condolences and sympathy "to the family of the martyr and to the media body, hoping that these pure bloods serve as a push to recalibrate the national compass towards affirming sovereignty, restoring rights, and solidifying the equation of protection in action, not in words."

Health Ministry offers condolences for the martyrdom of Amal Khalil: "An clear crime added to the enemy's broader criminal record"...

The Ministry of Public Health expressed in a statement, its condolences to "the family of journalist Amal Khalil and the media family in Lebanon for her martyrdom in the town of Al-Tayri, in circumstantial conditions that shame the conscience of humanity, after the occupation army pursued her to the house where she tried to seek shelter, turning these walls into rubble that snatched life from her while she was in the prime of her giving."

It said: "The ministry condemns in the strongest terms this explicit crime that is added to the large ledger of crimes that the Israeli enemy accumulates against civilians, including media professionals and assisting healthcare workers, flagrantly dismissing legal and humanitarian values."