Lebanese journalist Giselle Khoury dies at the age of 62 after battle with cancer

Lebanese journalist Giselle Khoury takes part in a demonstration against the Syrian regime and in solidarity with journalists killed or wounded in Syria at Samir Kassir Square in Beirut on February 24, 2012. (AFP)
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DUBAI: Lebanese journalist Giselle Khoury died on Sunday at the age of 62 at her home in Beirut after a long battle with cancer.

Khoury had been undergoing treatment in hospital over the last two weeks after her condition suddenly worsened, according to reports.

She had been battling cancer for two-and-a-half years and asked to be taken home on Friday, where she passed away surrounded by her family.




An image grab taken from an interview broadcast by the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite news channel on February 5, 2009 of Giselle Khoury. (AFP) 

Khoury’s long media career made her one of the most prominent Arab journalists. Her career began on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation in the mid-1980s.

She then played a pivotal role on Al-Arabiya news channel, presenting the “Bil Arabi” and “Studio Beirut” programs.




Lebanese Broadcast Corporation International (LBCI) television show host Giselle Khoury sits at her desk 02 May 2001 during a visit to Dubai.  (AFP)

Her last television program was “With Giselle” on Sky News Arabia, in which she interviewed the most prominent Lebanese and Arab figures.

Khoury was born in 1961 in the Achrafieh suburb of Beirut. She was married twice, her second husband being journalist, writer and historian Samir Kassir who was assassinated in 2005.

Khoury became active in promoting Kassir’s thoughts following his death and co-founded the Samir Kassir Foundation and the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom.




Lebanese Giselle Khoury (L), a star talk-show host and widow of murdered columnist Samir Kassir, mourn over the coffin of her late husband, who regularly wrote virulent articles against Syria's domination of Lebanon, during the funeral in Beirut 04 June 2005. (AFP)