Amal Khalil's newspaper files complaint against a BFMTV expert

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar filed a complaint Wednesday in Paris for "apology for war crimes" against General Philippe Sidos for his statements on the BFMTV set regarding the killing of Amal Khalil, a journalist for the daily, the newspaper's lawyer said Wednesday.

The former head of the liaison office of UNIFIL said on this channel, where he was frequently consulted as an expert: "Al-Akhbar is a newspaper close to Hezbollah. The Israelis usually say that journalists who work with Hezbollah are spies working for Hezbollah. So, in this case, it was targeted."

He added: "From the moment the newspaper's name is given, it is targeted. It's clear, definitive and precise. And Al-Akhbar, I took a little look at it today, indeed, yes, it's very, very, very pro-Hezbollah."

Vincent Brengarth, Parisian lawyer for the Lebanese newspaper, points out in his complaint that Sidos "shows no restraint and presents as obvious the fact that a journalist could be killed because of the editorial line of the newspaper she works for, in the context of an armed conflict."

The BFMTV journalists' association (SDJ) has "totally" distanced itself from these "shocking remarks" on the social network X, recalling that "targeting a journalist, just like a civilian, constitutes a war crime." The SDJ of BFMTV also deemed it "unacceptable that certain experts on set seem to explain the endangerment or even the murder of journalists, which also undermines the safety of our journalists on the ground."

Brengarth told AFP that "it is essential that an investigation be opened, otherwise there would be a feeling of impunity regarding all expressions that justify war crimes committed."

Amal Khalil, 42, journalist for the daily Al-Akhbar, was killed on April 22 and her freelance colleague Zeinab Faraj was injured in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces occupy several regions.

For Jonathan Dagher, Middle East director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Israeli strikes on the day in question "would indicate targeting and obstruction of aid constituting war crimes."

Lebanese leaders accused Israel at the end of April of having perpetrated a "war crime" after the death of this journalist, while the Israeli army said at that point it was reviewing the facts.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated "that journalists must be able to do their work without fear of interference, harassment or worse."