Lebanon says journalist killed by Israeli strike who rescue teams were prevented from reaching

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon that killed a journalist on Wednesday were a "war crime," Lebanon's prime minister said, as a journalists' union said rescuers were prevented from accessing the destroyed building where she was left trapped beneath rubble.

Amal Khalil, a journalist with the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, bled to death in the ruins of a building hit in an Israeli drone strike after Israeli forces' gunfire prevented ambulance crews from reaching her "for nearly four hours," according to Lebanon's Union of Journalists (ULJ).

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of "war crimes" in a post on X Wednesday, saying Israel's "targeting of media workers in the south while they carry out their professional duties" was "no longer isolated incidents, but… an established approach that we condemn and reject." 

Photojournalist Zeinab Faraj was also wounded in the attack, the union said. 

The Israel Defense Forces denied that troops had prevented rescue teams from reaching the site of the attack and said it "does not target journalists and acts to mitigate harm to them while maintaining the safety and security of its troops."