The Israeli army maintains a blockade on the Lebanese municipality of Tiri, near the border with Israel, preventing rescue efforts after bombing the area twice, causing at least two deaths and several injuries. Among the injured are two journalists. Despite the Israeli blockade, the Lebanese Red Cross managed to evacuate the bodies and one of the reporters, but an Israeli drone dropped a grenade on them from the sky as they attempted to rescue a second reporter, who is feared to have been buried under the rubble for hours.
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In a statement, the Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed, late into the night, that the search for journalist Amal Khalil, who works for the Al Akhbar channel, is still underway, and accused Israel of expressly targeting her and Zeinab Faraj, a reporter successfully evacuated to a hospital in the village of Tibnin.
A first bombing of a vehicle traveling through Tiri caused two fatalities this Wednesday. One of them was the mokhtar (notable) of the municipality, Ali Nabi Bazzi. The journalists, who according to the Ministry of Health were in the area, took refuge in a nearby house, but “the enemy pursued them,” the statement says, “attacking the building where they had taken shelter.”
Israel has confirmed that version. The spokesperson for the Israeli troops in Arabic, Ella Waweya, stated that the army detected “two vehicles leaving a military building used by Hezbollah,” proceeding to fire after determining that the vehicles “had crossed the advanced defense line and were approaching Israeli forces in a manner that constituted an imminent threat.”
Both statements shed light on events that had been shrouded in confusion in recent hours. The incident takes place in Tiri, one of the villages within the Yellow Line that Israel has drawn around the villages it occupies in southern Lebanon, and which it alternately calls the “Advanced Defensive Line.” This territory covers 5% of Lebanon, where Israel methodically detonates buildings and shoots anyone it deems a threat. This makes access to the area difficult, and witnesses and information scarce.
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After that second bombing, the Lebanese news agency reported that Israeli forces were “besieging” the injured journalists, preventing the Red Cross from accessing the site. A contingent from that institution finally managed to reach the scene and retrieve two dead and one injured reporter —who, after head surgery, is in stable condition—.
Given the Israeli army’s attitude, Lebanese authorities have mobilized at the highest level to ensure the rescue of those affected “as soon as possible,” in the words of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. In a statement, Aoun urged the Lebanese Red Cross to coordinate with the Lebanese army and with the Mechanism. This is a committee, led by the United States —and participated in by France, Israel, Lebanon, and the United Nations peacekeeping mission—, designed to supervise the truce signed in 2024 between Israel and Hezbollah. At the same time, it is a body that serves as an indirect liaison with Israel.
In parallel, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has contacted the leadership of the peacekeepers, while Paul Morcos, Lebanese Minister of Information, assures that the Government is implementing “intensive and urgent contacts,” including international institutions, to ensure a rescue operation.
Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists have denounced the attacks and the siege on the journalists. Locally, the Lebanese Journalists’ Union has accused Israel of “a flagrant violation” that infringes international law, as well as an “attempt to intimidate the press.” “It is not an isolated case,” they stated in a communiqué, “but part of a series of violations targeting Lebanese journalists.” On March 30, an Israeli bombing instantly killed three journalists traveling in the same vehicle. The Israeli army justified the aggression by alleging that one of them had regular contact with Hezbollah.
