Investigate Israel's killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil as war crime, rights groups say

The killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and the serious wounding of photojournalist Zeinab Faraj by the Israeli military earlier this year was a direct attack on civilians and should be treated as a war crime, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a press conference in Beirut on Thursday.

Khalil, a journalist with Al-Akhbar, and freelancer Faraj, who was working as her camera operator, were attacked by the Israeli military on 22 April as they were working in southern Lebanon.

The rights groups said that photographs and video, witness accounts, statements, and a deconfliction request to access the site by the Lebanese Red Cross to the Israeli military after three strikes hit that day demonstrate that the Israeli military likely knew that Khalil and Faraj were civilians, making the attack a war crime.

"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," said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"Israeli forces’ continued killing of journalists shows a brazen willingness to commit atrocities without any fear of consequences."

In the lead-up to the incident, Khalil and Faraj were following a car which had been targeted by an Israeli drone attack at around 2:30 pm local time, killing the two men inside. They were identified as Ali Bazzi and Mohammed al-Hourani, who they both knew and had no affiliation with Hezbollah, evidence procured by HRW indicates.

Over a period of two hours or so, Israeli drones were hovering in the direction of Khalil and Faraj, targeting their car, which then forced them to seek shelter in a house in the village of Al-Tiri. At around 4:25 pm, the house was struck.

The attack prompted Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to appeal to the Red Cross and the UN to rescue the journalists. The reporters had also made multiple phone calls to rescue groups, family members, and colleagues, asking for help. The Lebanese Red Cross was only able to reach the site at 5 pm, despite multiple requests via UNIFIL, which were forwarded to the Israeli military.

A seriously wounded Faraj was eventually rescued and evacuated at around 5:40 pm. However, the Lebanese Red Cross was forced to withdraw before reaching Khalil 13 minutes later, who was still alive at the time, due to persistent Israeli fire and stun grenades.

At the time, the Israeli military said it "continues to maintain its positions in southern Lebanon".

When able to return several hours later, Khalil’s body was recovered and pronounced dead, prompting outcry from Lebanon and the journalistic community. 

Khalil was the ninth journalist to be killed in Lebanon by Israeli forces in 2026, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Others killed include Ali Shoaib from Al-Manar TV, Fatima Ftouni from Al-Mayadeen, and freelancer Mohamad Shehab.

The Al-Akhbar journalist was dubbed the "voice of the South" for her decades-long reporting from southern Lebanon

Amnesty International urged the Lebanese government to take action to hold Israel accountable for its killing of Khalil.

In an interview with The New Arab, Sahar Mandour, highlighted that Lebanon's government has taken no legal steps against Israel over its actions in the country since 2023.

"Lebanon has not investigated any of these attacks yet, did not join the ICC, and we're still waiting for these measures to be taken from the government. Once we are on a path of holding the Israeli army accountable for war crimes, then we will see if this Article 13 still applies in this context," she said, in reference to the June 2026 US-brokered Lebanon-Israel framework agreement, which has raised fears that it could stop war crime victims from seeking justice.

The rights group also stressed that despite the Israeli military ordering residents not to return to a specific set of Lebanese villages, including Al-Tiri, after a ceasefire in Lebanon went into effect on 17 and 21 April, this does not mean that residents lose their civilian status or their rights to protection under international law.

"The evidence is clear that the Israeli military knew or should have known that Faraj and Khalil were civilians, but attacked them anyway, and then prevented paramedics from rescuing them for hours," Kaiss said. "Lebanon should put an end to impunity for Israel’s abuses, and other countries should press for accountability and use their leverage over Israeli authorities to prevent more crimes.".

The Israeli military appeared to justify the attack in a statement later that day, accusing the two men killed in the car strike of being "saboteurs". It went on to deny that it had obstructed rescue efforts to save Khalil and Faraj, as well as claiming that it does not target journalists, and "respects freedom of the press and the important role journalists play".

It also did not respond to HRW’s follow-up questions on what evidence was used to conclude that Bazzi and Hourani were legitimate targets.

Mandour refuted this, saying that there are clear patterns in the Israeli army's conduct when targeting journalists, despite their claims that reporters are "collateral damage".

"We alone have documented attacks in Lebanon which have killed journalists. One in 2023, and 2026, in addition to attacks in the occupied Gaza Strip. The Israeli army and their communication with us did not say that the journalists were considered collateral damage," Mandour said.

"They speak of journalists as 'never' their target and they are 'super keen' on protecting journalists during their attacks. How come that in such a small country in Lebanon, 10 journalists have been killed in two escalations, and in Gaza, it's worse."

Following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023 and the wider Middle East conflict which ensued, Israeli forces have killed scores of journalists in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, as well as Syria, Iran, and Yemen.

According to the CJP, Israeli forces have killed 263 journalists since then, the overwhelming majority being in the Gaza Strip.

In Lebanon, at least 19 have been killed since October 2023.

Under the laws of war, journalists benefit from the general protection granted to civilians and may not be targets of an attack unless they are taking direct part in hostilities. Anyone accused of violating such, intentionally or not, may be investigated for being complicit or carrying out a war crime.