Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has condemned the killing of journalist Amal Khalil in what was described as an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, accusing Israel of targeting journalists to silence voices exposing what he called its genocidal crimes in the region.

“Amal Khalil is not just a name — she was a voice for the voiceless who are brutalised 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 in a post on X on Thursday, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.

“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 called on the international community to fulfil what he described as its legal and moral responsibility and stand against “the rule of brutality and cruelty”.

He also extended condolences over the death of Amal Khalil to the 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 on 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.

The incident came despite a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that took effect on 17 April following weeks of intensified fighting. Press TV reported that since 2 March, Israel has killed around 2,300 people, wounded more than 7,500, and displaced over 1.2 million.

Also on Thursday, Baghaei strongly condemned the continuation of what he described as Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip, including the killing of civilians and the 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 said Israel, in coordination with the United States, was using the ceasefire as cover to continue what he described as genocide against Palestinians and to advance a colonial plan to eliminate Palestine.

He also accused the US of complicity in what he called Israeli crimes in Gaza through its continued military and political support for Israel.

Baghaei added that all governments, the United Nations, human rights organisations, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation were legally and morally obliged to take “decisive and responsible action to stop these crimes” and hold those responsible accountable.

News.Az