Thousands attend the funeral of a Lebanese journalist killed in an Israeli attackpublished at 18:09 BST
Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Lebanon
image source, EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
Amal Khalil's coffin, wrapped in the Lebanese flag, was carried through the narrow streets of her village, along with her blue helmet and body armor bearing the word “Press.” From the roofs and balconies of houses, women in black threw flowers as journalists mourned the loss of another colleague killed by Israel.
Thousands attended the funeral in Baisariyeh, southern Lebanon, carrying placards with her smiling face, singing prayers and crying. Gunshots and fireworks celebrated their lives.
Lebanese officials say Khalil was deliberately attacked by Israel as she sought shelter in southern Lebanon after an earlier airstrike yesterday, and that the Israeli military then deliberately attacked an ambulance, preventing it from reaching her. Israel denies this, saying it is not targeting journalists and is investigating the case.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says Israel killed at least seven other reporters in Lebanon during that war and dozens more both here and in Gaza before that.
Khalil's friends and colleagues are calling for an investigation, knowing full well that there has been no justice for journalists killed by Israel in Lebanon in the past.
“Amal was a special journalist. We feel the injustice that has been documented in all these attacks on journalists,” Elsy Moufarrej, the head of Lebanon's journalists' union, told me. “We are still seeking justice but have not yet achieved it.”
After a final round of applause, Amal Khalil's body was buried in the land she loved – the land where an Israeli attack killed her.
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