Key facts
- Three human rights organizations, including HRW and Amnesty International, have concluded that an Israeli strike killing Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was a war crime.
- Investigations suggest Israel deliberately targeted Khalil and her colleague Zeinab Faraj, knowing they were civilians.
- The organizations also reported that Israel obstructed rescue efforts by Lebanese Red Cross workers, potentially leading to Khalil's death.
- Israel stated it regrets any harm to journalists and that they were killed during events where Hezbollah operatives also died.
- The reports call for accountability and an arms embargo on Israel.
Three human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and Legal Agenda, have declared that an Israeli strike in April that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured her colleague Zeinab Faraj constituted a war crime. The organizations' investigations indicate that Israel deliberately and directly attacked Khalil and Faraj, with apparent knowledge of their civilian status. They are calling for these attacks to be investigated as war crimes.
HRW specifically urged states to halt arms sales to Israel and to impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials implicated in ongoing crimes. The reports also detail how Israeli forces allegedly delayed Lebanese ambulances from reaching the injured journalists for hours, at one point dropping stun grenades on Red Cross workers and firing on their ambulances. This delay, the reports suggest, may have been fatal for Khalil, as hospital records indicate she might have been alive for hours after the initial strike.
Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanon researcher at HRW, stated, "The evidence is clear that the Israeli military knew, or should have, that Faraj and Khalil were civilians, but attacked them anyway, and then prevented paramedics from rescuing them for hours." Israel, in response, expressed regret for any harm caused to journalists, stating they were killed "as part of a series of events" during which two Hezbollah operatives were also killed. Israel noted a two-hour gap between the initial strike on the alleged Hezbollah operatives and a subsequent strike on a building where the journalists were sheltering.
Amal Khalil, 42, worked for the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, while Zeinab Faraj, 21, was a freelance camerawoman and photojournalist. Both had been actively covering the conflict in Lebanon for three years. On April 22, 2026, they drove to the village of al-Tiri in southern Lebanon to verify reports of Israeli troop withdrawal. They followed a car carrying Ali Nabil Bazzi, a municipal official, and Mohammed Hourani, a friend of the mayor.
Amnesty stated that even in areas designated as military zones by Israel, distinguishing between civilians and combatants is mandatory. At 2:25 p.m., after entering al-Tiri, the car carrying Bazzi and Hourani was struck, killing them. Khalil contacted Lebanese civil defense for assistance. Rescue crews were instructed to halt at a military checkpoint pending authorization from the Israeli military for safe passage, a process that requires coordination through a deconfliction channel.
By 5 p.m., the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon had approved a safe route for civil defense, but Israel had not yet granted its approval. While awaiting rescue, Faraj and Khalil sought shelter in a nearby building as Israeli quadcopters circled overhead. At 3:31 p.m., approximately nine minutes after a civil defense member urged Khalil to leave the village due to the lack of permission, Israel struck the journalists' car, injuring both women. They crawled into a building for shelter, continuing to call for assistance but were told rescue was contingent on authorization.
At 4:25 p.m., Israel conducted a third strike, bombing the building where they were sheltering and burying them under rubble. At 5 p.m., the Lebanese Red Cross received permission to enter and evacuated Faraj, who sustained severe injuries. Rescuers could not reach Khalil, who was trapped. During the evacuation, rescuers came under attack by an Israeli quadcopter and witnesses reported gunfire. The rescuers were forced to withdraw with only Faraj.
The Israeli military finally granted permission for rescue crews to re-enter at 8:15 p.m. Khalil's body was recovered at 11 p.m. An examination at Tebnine hospital indicated she likely died around 7 p.m., trapped under rubble while rescue efforts were prevented by the Israeli military. All three organizations have demanded accountability, citing a pattern of impunity for Israeli forces regarding civilian and journalist killings in Lebanon.