‘Heinous war crimes’: Iran condemns Israeli killing of Lebanese journalist

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says the occupying regime of Israel kills journalists to silence the voices that expose its genocidal crimes in the region.

He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X on Thursday in response to the killing of journalist Amal Khalil in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.

“Amal Khalil is not just a name — she was a voice for the voiceless who are brutalized by the occupying genocidal regime. And like so many before her, that voice is now silenced for telling the truth about the occupying regime's atrocities,” Baghaei wrote.

“Killing journalists is not merely an atrocious war crime; it is part of a cruel erasure of populations and annexation of territories in furtherance of a vicious colonial ambition,” he added.

Baghaei urged the international community to shoulder its legal and moral responsibility and stand against "the rule of brutality and cruelty."

He also extended condolences over the martyrdom of Amal Khalil to all Lebanese people and to all those who value truth, justice and humanity.

Lebanese Civil Defense said Amal Khalil, a journalist with Lebanon's al-Akhbar daily, was deliberately targeted in an Israeli strike in the southern town of at-Tiri on Wednesday, where her body was later recovered from the rubble.

The strike also wounded another journalist, Zeinab Faraj, who had been with Khalil.

Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil deliberately killed in Israeli airstrike, body found in rubble

Lebanese Civil Defense confirms the death of Amal Khalil, a journalist with the country

This came despite a temporary ceasefire between the Israeli regime and Lebanon that took effect on April 17, following weeks of intensified fighting.

Since March 2, Israel has killed around 2,300 people, wounded more than 7,500, and displaced over 1.2 million, according to Lebanese authorities.

Also on Thursday, Baghaei strongly condemned the continuation of Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip, including the killing of civilians and assassination of Palestinian activists in recent days.

Since the announcement of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, about 800 Palestinians, many of whom are women and children, have been martyred in the Zionist regime's attacks, he said.

The spokesman noted that Israel, in coordination with the United States, uses the ceasefire as a cover to continue its genocide against Palestinians and advance its colonial plan to annihilate Palestine.

He stressed that the US is complicit in Israel's crimes in Gaza, amid its continued military and political support for this regime.

Baghaei also emphasized that all governments, the United Nations and human rights organizations, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, are legally and morally obliged to take "decisive and responsible action to stop these crimes" and hold its perpetrators accountable.

His remarks come as Israel continues to target residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure in the besieged Gaza Strip in violation of the ceasefire.

The Gaza Government Media Office reported that the Israeli forces have committed at least 2,400 violations since the ceasefire took effect in October last year, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, killing at least 72,562 and injuring 172,320 others.

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