Three international human rights organizations—Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Legal Agenda—released investigations concluding that an Israeli military strike that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured colleague Zeinab Faraj in April was a war crime. The organizations alleged that the Israeli military deliberately targeted the two journalists despite knowing they were civilians and subsequently prevented rescue operations for several hours.
Khalil, a 42-year-old reporter for al-Akhbar newspaper, and Faraj, a 21-year-old freelance camerawoman, were in the village of al-Tiri in southern Lebanon documenting conditions following reported Israeli troop movements. The sequence of events began when a vehicle carrying municipal officials was struck at approximately 2:25pm, prompting Khalil to request emergency assistance. Rescue coordination in the occupied zone required Israeli military approval through a deconfliction channel, which had not been granted when the journalists sought shelter in another building.
At 3:40pm, an Israeli strike struck the journalists’ vehicle, injuring both severely. After they relocated to a nearby structure for protection, a third Israeli strike at 4:25pm collapsed the building, trapping both women under rubble. When Lebanese Red Cross personnel arrived at 5pm to conduct rescue operations, they came under attack from Israeli quadcopters that deployed stun grenades and fired on ambulances. Medical examination later determined Khalil likely died at 7pm while trapped beneath debris, awaiting rescue that was prevented until 8:15pm when Israeli forces finally authorized re-entry into the village.
Israel stated it regretted harm to journalists and characterized the strikes as occurring during operations against Hezbollah operatives. However, the human rights organizations asserted that approximately two hours separated the initial strikes from the attacks on the journalists’ location. According to UN records, Israeli operations have resulted in at least 15 journalist deaths in Lebanon and 210 in Gaza since 2023. The organizations called for international arms embargoes and sanctions against Israeli officials, describing the incident as part of a pattern of civilian targeting without accountability.
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