Leading rights groups determined that Israel committed war crimes during an April 2026 strike in southern Lebanon that killed journalist Amal Khalil and injured camera operator Zainab Faraj. The Israel Defense Forces stated they target Hezbollah, not journalists, while international investigations and witness statements indicate authorities knew the victims were civilians.
An international human rights watchdog announced that the Israeli military committed apparent war crimes during a series of airstrikes in southern Lebanon on April 22, leading rights groups determined. The attacks in the southern town of al-Tiri resulted in the death of Amal Khalil, a war correspondent reporting for the Lebanese daily news outlet al-Akhbar, and severely wounded freelance camera operator Zainab Faraj.
Chronology of the Strikes in al-Tiri
According to investigations by human rights monitors and press freedom organizations, the deadly sequence began shortly after 2:30 p.m. local time when an initial strike hit a vehicle traveling ahead of the journalists. That first explosion killed Ali Bazzi and Mohammed al-Hourani, two acquaintances of the reporters. The blast forced Khalil and Faraj to abandon their own car and seek refuge near a neighboring building.
At approximately 3:00 p.m., the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon transmitted a deconfliction request from the Lebanese Red Cross to the Israeli military, seeking permission to access the site and rescue trapped journalists. Instead of granting safe passage, a second attack occurred between 3:21 p.m. and 3:42 p.m., striking close to the journalists’ hiding spot and injuring Khalil. A third attack at about 4:25 p.m. bombed the building itself, reducing it to rubble.
Obstruction of Rescue Efforts and Medical Findings
Witness statements and media reports indicate that rescue operations faced severe military obstruction. Lebanese Red Cross paramedics attempting to reach the scene were initially forced to retreat after a drone-delivered stun grenade was deployed near them, while the ambulance sustained damage from small arms fire. Because of the ongoing strikes, the Lebanese army and rescue teams could not reach the location until much later in the evening.
The Red Cross finally evacuated Faraj, who suffered from fractures, around 6:00 p.m. Hours later, accompanied by the Lebanese army, rescue workers recovered Khalil’s lifeless body from the ground floor of the destroyed building at 11:10 p.m. A report from Tebnin Governmental Hospital stated that Khalil died around 7:00 p.m. from cardiac arrest caused by severe bleeding from a head injury, indicating she was likely alive while emergency responders were initially blocked from the area.
“The Israeli military says it does not target journalists, but the facts and evidence show that it has repeatedly done so. Amal Khalil and Zainab Faraj are the latest victims in a long series of such attacks.”
Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch
Conflicting Official Statements and Legal Demands
The Israel Defense Forces maintained that they were targeting Hezbollah and asserted that they do not target journalists. In social media statements, the Israeli army described the journalists as intruders
who were violating a ceasefire agreement that had gone into effect on April 17.
Human Rights Watch countered that civilians in areas subject to displacement orders do not lose their protected status under international humanitarian law simply by remaining in those zones. The organization called on the Lebanese government to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, while urging international allies—including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other European Union states—to suspend arms transfers and impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for ongoing abuses.