Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said Thursday that Israeli forces apparently carried out a deliberate attack on two civilian journalists in southern Lebanon in April, killing Al-Akhbar correspondent Amal Khalil and seriously wounding freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj. The groups called for an independent investigation into the strikes as a possible war crime, while Israel said its preliminary inquiry found that the operation targeted Hezbollah members.
The findings concern a sequence of attacks on April 22 in al-Tiri, about eight kilometres from the Israeli border, less than a week after a fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce began. Khalil, 42, had long reported from southern Lebanon. Faraj, 21, was working beside her as they covered damage in villages affected by the conflict, according to the Associated Press and the rights organizations.
Investigators said they examined photographs, videos, satellite imagery, witness and official testimony, and WhatsApp communications. Their reconstruction says an initial drone strike killed two men in a vehicle near the reporters, a second strike hit the journalists' car after they stopped, and a third hit the building where the wounded women sought shelter. Low-flying drones remained over the area, the groups said.
The Lebanese Red Cross eventually received clearance to enter and rescued Faraj, but paramedics said Israeli fire forced them away before they could reach Khalil under the rubble. Human Rights Watch cited a coroner's report saying she died in the evening from cardiac arrest caused by head trauma and severe bleeding. The groups said Lebanese authorities and the UN peacekeeping mission had repeatedly notified Israel that journalists needed rescue.
The Israeli military said Thursday that a preliminary inquiry concluded Khalil died during strikes directed at Hezbollah members and that the completed investigation would go to its legal branch for review. It has denied intentionally targeting journalists. Human Rights Watch said it found no evidence that the two men killed near the reporters were fighters, and the groups argued that declaring an area off limits does not remove civilian protections under humanitarian law.
Amnesty and Human Rights Watch urged Lebanon to investigate and to grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over alleged crimes since October 2023; they also called for an arms embargo and other international measures. The case adds pressure for accountability over attacks on media workers in the regional conflict. Any criminal determination would require an independent judicial process, and Israel's final military review remained pending Thursday.
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